A group of scientists have announced the discovery of a perfectly preserved dinosaur embryo, almost hatching from its egg in the same position as a chicken.
The embryo was found in Ganzhou, southern China, and is thought to be at least 66 million years old, according to researchers.
It is believed the embryo was of a toothless theropod dinosaur, or oviraptosaurus, and was named Baby Yingliang.
Researcher Dr Fion Waisum Ma said it was "the best dinosaur embryo ever found in history".
This finding provides researchers with a clearer understanding of the relationship between dinosaurs and modern birds.
The fossils show the embryos in a coiled position known as "tucking", a behavior commonly observed in birds just before hatching.
"This indicates that similar behavior in modern birds first evolved and originated from their dinosaur ancestors," Dr Ma told AFP news agency.
Oviraptorosaurus, meaning "egg-stealing lizard", was a feathered dinosaur that lived in what is now Asia and North America during the Late Cretaceous period - between 100 million and 66 million years ago.
Paleontologist Prof Steve Brusatte, who was also a member of the research team, tweeted that this was "one of the most beautiful dinosaur fossils" he had ever seen, and that the embryo was just a few days away.
Baby Yingliang, who measures 27cm from head to tail, and is inside a 17cm long egg, is currently being placed in the Yingliang Stone Nature History Museum in China.
These eggs were first discovered in 2000, but then stored for 10 years.
It was only when there was work on building a museum and the old fossils were rearranged that researchers began to take a closer look at the egg, suspecting that it contained an embryo.
Part of the dinosaur's body is still covered in dirt, and researchers will use state-of-the-art scanning techniques to create a full image of the bones.
