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In what is now southern China’s Jiangxi Province, scientists have discovered something that would make Alan Grant’s jaw drop through the ground: a fossil of a non-avian dinosaur sitting on top of a nest of eggs, in which their fossil embryos have been preserved. Scientists say this is the first time a non-avian dinosaur has been found on its babies. And that the find offers a glimpse into how dinosaurs cared for their claws as they evolved into large birds.
CNN reported on the discovery, which a multinational team of researchers recently described in an article published in the journal Scientific Bulletin. According to the article, recent studies have shown that many avian characteristics evolve gradually in dinosaurs; before the origin of the clade, Avialae, which consists of the only living dinosaurs: birds.
Shundong Bi / Indiana University of Pennsylvania
“Dinosaurs preserved on their nests are rare, as are fossil embryos,” co-lead author, Drs. Shundong Bi of Indiana University of Pennsylvania said in a press release. “This is the first time that a non-avian dinosaur has been found, sitting on a nest of eggs that preserve embryos, in a single spectacular specimen,” Bi added.
Researchers estimate the fossil to be 70 million years old, placing it in the Cretaceous period. (Ranging from about 145 to 66 million years ago.) It consists of an incomplete skeleton of what is probably an adult oviraptorid – that is, an omnivorous dino resembling a bird, in the pictures below – in a bird-like brood position on a clutch of about 24 eggs.
Zhao Chuang, PNSO
“This type of discovery – in essence, fossilized behavior – is the rarest of the few in dinosaurs,” paleontologist and project researcher Dr. Matt Lamanna added in the release. “In the new specimen, the babies were almost ready to hatch, which tells us without a doubt that this oviraptorid had nurtured its nest for quite a long time.
Not only does the fossil prove that this “hell chicken” (yes, that’s a nickname for oviraptors) was a caring parent, but ultimately something deeper. That he clearly gave his life for his little ones. As well as modern science.
Andrew McAfee / Carnegie Museum of Natural History
“It’s amazing to think of the amount of biological information… in this one fossil,” Bi said. “We will learn from this specimen for many years to come.”
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