&uuid=(email))
A perfectly preserved dinosaur embryo has been discovered by scientists in Ganzhou, southern China.
The embryo was preparing to hatch from its egg, just like a chicken, and researchers estimate it is at least 66 million years old, it was revealed.
It is believed to be a toothless theropod dinosaur, or oviraptorosaur, and has been named Baby Yingliang.
Oviraptorosaurs, which means 'egg thief lizards,' were feathered dinosaurs that lived in what is now Asia and North America between 100 million to 66 million years ago.
The brand-new discovery has provided more insight into the link between dinosaurs and modern birds, said researcher Dr Fion Waisum Ma, who added that it is "the best dinosaur embryo ever found in history".
Measuring 10.6in (27cm) long from head to tail, Baby Yingliang rests inside a 6.7 inch-long egg at the Yingliang Stone Nature History Museum in China.
The discovery has given researchers a greater understanding of the link between dinosaurs and modern birds. The fossil shows the embryo was in a curled position known as 'tucking', which is a behaviour seen in birds shortly before they hatch.
"This indicates that such behaviour in modern birds first evolved and originated among their dinosaur ancestors," Dr Ma told the AFP news agency.
&uuid=(email))