A fossilized egg has been found to contain the remains of the world’s most complete baby dinosaur just before hatching. The exquisitely preserved embryo was “lying like a bird” in a distinctive tucking posture. It died about 70 million years ago—and was about to hatch. The head is below the body, with the feet on either side. Its back is curled along the blunt end of the shell. The posture was thought to be unique to modern birds—and boosts survival. The discovery adds to evidence our feathered friends really are “living dinosaurs.” “Most known non-avian dinosaur embryos are incomplete with skeletons disarticulated,” said first author Fion Waisum Ma, a PhD student at the University of Birmingham. “We were surprised to see this embryo beautifully preserved inside a dinosaur egg, lying in a bird-like posture. “This posture had not been recognized in non-avian dinosaurs before.” It was unearthed from the Upper Cretaceous …
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