Hold onto your hats, folks. We’ve got a prehistoric bombshell coming your way.
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Picture this: a dinosaur embryo, perfectly preserved inside a fossilized egg.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/shutterstock_649176589.jpg.optimal.jpg)
 But wait, there’s more. This little nugget of history lay hidden for over a decade.
 Tucked away in a storage room at the Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum in Nan’an, China.
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The egg’s journey began in the Shahe Industrial Park back in 2000.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/shutterstock_1828042817.jpg.optimal.jpg)
Donated to the museum, it sat quietly until curiosity came knocking.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot_2-18.jpg.optimal.jpg)
When scientists finally cracked open the mystery, jaws dropped.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot_3-16.jpg.optimal.jpg)
 Inside that unassuming egg? A perfectly formed dinosaur embryo.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/dinosaur-obsessed-kids-might-be-better-learners-says-new-study_1.jpg.optimal.jpg)
And not just any dinosaur — we’re talking oviraptorosaurs, the cousins of modern birds.
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With feathers instead of scales, these dinos were the real deal.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot_6-21.jpg.optimal.jpg)
But here’s the kicker: the embryo was estimated to be a whopping 72 million years old.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot_5-17.jpg.optimal.jpg)
Meet ‘Baby Yingliang,’ the pint-sized wonder that rocked the paleontology world.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-1295900106.jpg.optimal.jpg)
And what’s got scientists buzzing? The posture of this ancient hatchling.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot_1-17.jpg.optimal.jpg)
Picture this: head tucked beneath the body, feet on either side, and back curved along the egg.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-1752325042.jpg.optimal.jpg)
Sound familiar? That’s right — it’s straight out of the bird playbook.
 In a groundbreaking study, researchers from the University of Birmingham and China University of Geosciences made a startling discovery.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/shutterstock_791204161.jpg.optimal.jpg)
This ‘tucking’ posture? It’s a page ripped from the bird’s prehistoric diary.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/scientists-reverse-time-quantum-computer_0.jpg.optimal.jpg)
Professor Steve Brusatte couldn’t contain his excitement, calling Baby Yingliang one of the most beautiful fossils ever seen.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/mysterious-island-appears-pacific-baffling-scientists_24.jpg.optimal.jpg)
But the real star of the show? Fion Waisum Ma, PhD researcher at the University of Birmingham.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-1298626492-scaled.jpg.optimal.jpg)
According to Ma, Baby Yingliang holds the key to unlocking the mysteries of dinosaur growth and reproduction.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot_2-19.jpg.optimal.jpg)
And here’s the kicker: that embryo strikingly resembles a chicken embryo in its pre-hatching behavior.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot_12-15.jpg.optimal.jpg)
Cue the mind-blowing revelations and jaw-dropping discoveries.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot_16-12.jpg.optimal.jpg)
 So, what does this mean for our understanding of prehistoric life?
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Strap in, because we’re about to rewrite the history books.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GettyImages-1341635109.jpg.optimal.jpg)
But before we dive into the nitty-gritty, let’s rewind the clock and delve into Baby Yingliang’s backstory.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot_14-10.jpg.optimal.jpg)
Picture a quiet storage room in a bustling museum, the egg lying in wait.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot_11-18.jpg.optimal.jpg)
Little did anyone know, it held the secrets of an ancient world.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot_5-17.jpg.optimal.jpg)
As years turned into decades, the egg remained a silent sentinel of the past.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/mysterious-island-appears-pacific-baffling-scientists_24.jpg.optimal.jpg)
Until one day, when curiosity got the better of the scientists.
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With bated breath, they cracked open the egg, unveiling a treasure trove of history.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot_3-17.jpg.optimal.jpg)
And as they marveled at Baby Yingliang’s perfectly preserved form, the world held its breath.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot_9-21.jpg.optimal.jpg)
What tales would this ancient embryo tell?
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot_8-15.jpg.optimal.jpg)
Turns out, the answer lay in its posture — a clue to its avian ancestry.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/japanese-researchers-say-ingredient-in-mcdonalds-fries-can-cure-baldness_17.jpg.optimal.jpg)
As researchers pieced together the puzzle, a new chapter in paleontology unfolded.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot_1-17.jpg.optimal.jpg)
Baby Yingliang wasn’t just a fossil; it was a window into a lost world.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GettyImages-1303886185.jpg.optimal.jpg)
And with each discovery, we inch closer to unraveling the mysteries of the past.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot_7-21.jpg.optimal.jpg)
 So, as we marvel at Baby Yingliang’s ancient grace, let’s raise a toast to the wonders of science.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/shutterstock_1828042817.jpg.optimal.jpg)
For in the heart of a fossilized egg lies the key to our future understanding.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot_13-16.jpg.optimal.jpg)
And who knows? Perhaps the next breakthrough is just a crack away.
![](https://twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot_6-21.jpg.optimal.jpg)
Baby Yingliang, you may be small, but your impact is colossal.