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Topics: Science, Dinosaurs, World News
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Scientists have made a breakthrough discovery with a perfectly preserved dinosaur egg and the internet has gone wild.
The ancient egg, believed to be more than 70 million years old, was unearthed by a team of some very stunned Argentinian scientists on October 7.
The perfectly-preserved prehistoric relic was found near the Rio Negro in General Roca, Patagonia, with the team from Argentina's Museum of Natural Sciences visibly buzzing with excitement as they announced the groundbreaking find on livestream.
To a flurry of whoops and cheers as one held up the egg, a scientist on the panel commented: "It was so well preserved that it looked recent."
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"We've never seen anything like it, we've never seen an egg so well preserved."
Only some markings around the oval artefact gave away its primordial origins, though otherwise has been considered an unprecedented historical find due to its condition.
The team came across the egg as part of a scientific mission dubbed Cretaceous Expedition I and led by Argentina's National Council for Scientific and Technical Research.
Now, dozens around the world appear to be sharing the same enthusiasm as the team did for the magnificent find - and all appear quite excited for the same thing.
Racing to X, formerly Twitter, one said: "DINO NEWS FLASH! whole dinosaur egg found. We're one step closer to getting an actual real Jurassic Park?!"
A second chimed that the egg, what with it being found near the world-famous river Rio Negro, presents an opportunity to rename it 'Jurassic Park river', in homage of the iconic Steven Spielberg movie.
It is believed the egg belonged to a member of the carnivorous bonapartenykus genus, a family of long-legged, bipedal dinosaurs that once roamed the Rio Negro Province in the late Cretaceous period.
Scientists also found the remains of other reptiles and ancient mammals near the egg, lending to the theory that the area could have been a nesting ground back in the day.
Speaking to National Geographic, researcher Gonzalo Muñoz said: "It was a complete and utter surprise. It's not common to find the egg of a possible carnivorous dinosaur, much less in that state.
"The happiness was spectacular for the team."
As to why the finding is so rare, he revealed it's because carnivorous dinosaur eggs in particular are less likely to be discovered due to being so fragile.
"They're much more delicate eggs," he said, "with thinner shells that are more likely to be destroyed."
As for the chance of a real-life of Jurassic Park, well, we will have to see as the scientists say they plan on doing scans on the egg to see if it contains any embryonic material.
Muñoz said: "An embryo is a very delicate animal, and its preservation is more complex. Although the egg was preserved complete, we don't know if the embryo was there and died, or if it was an egg that didn't have an embryo."
If such material is found, it would be one of the most important paleontological breakthroughs in recent history, revealing how carnivorous dinosaurs evolved.
After testing, the egg is set to be displayed in a local museum in Patagonia.