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The Oldest Dinosaur Embryo Found |
South African paleontologists have discovered a 190-million-year-old dinosaur embryo from a site that contains seven eggs of this giant reptile, found 30 years ago in a national park.
In addition to confirming that this is the oldest embryo ever found, scientists have also been able to reconstruct the developmental process of terrestrial vertebrates from juvenile to adult stages for the first time.
Mr. Mike Raath, a manager at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, stated at a press conference: “This discovery pushes back the timeline by as much as 100 million years, because the previous oldest fossilized embryo found was only 90 million years old.”
This embryo belongs to a species of dinosaur that appeared very early, characterized by a small head, long neck, and long tail. This dinosaur lived in South Africa during the early Jurassic period, primarily feeding on plants and insects.
The fossil also provides the oldest evidence of parental care behavior in a dinosaur species. Mr. Raath added: “These embryos do not have teeth, which suggests that they may have been nursing in their early life.”
Previously, in South Africa, skeletons of this dinosaur species had been found, but this is the first time eggs have been discovered.
KINH LUÂN (According to AFP)