This fossilized dinosaur embryo is curled up in its egg just like a chicken

Scientists have identified an extremely rare fossilized dinosaur embryo in an egg from southern China.

The late-Cretaceous specimen belongs to a group of dinosaurs called oviraptorosaurs, which are closely related to birds. Intriguingly, the embryo’s position resembles the “tucking” posture that modern birds assume before hatching. The findings indicate that this important adaptation evolved before birds split off from other dinosaurs, the researchers reported on December 21 in the journal iScience.

“Dinosaur embryos are key to the understanding of prehatching…