The world's largest dinosaur embryo fossil, Beibeilong sinensis, made its first public appearance in Shanghai on Aug 17, marking the start of Henan province week at the Shanghai Natural History Museum's China's Dinosaur World exhibition.

The unveiling of the Beibeilong sinensis, which translates to "Chinese baby dragon", was led by paleontologist Xu Xing, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Xu Li, curator of the Henan Natural History Museum, where the fossil originates.

The authentic fossil will be on display at the museum for three months.

Discovered in 1992 in Xixia, Henan province, the fossil includes a nearly complete giant elongated egg measuring about 43 centimeters and an embryonic dinosaur in a left-lying posture. It was lost overseas for two decades.

Known in the United States as "Baby Louie" through National Geographic, the fossil was repatriated to China in 2013 after intense efforts.

"We proposed the idea that this treasure undoubtedly originated from Xixia, Henan, so we named it Beibeilong sinensis upon its return," said Xu Li.

Scientists identified Beibeilong sinensis as an oviraptorosaur, a newly discovered species within the Caenagnathidae clade, a theropod group evolutionarily close to birds.

Embryo fossils form when an egg is buried before the dinosaur hatches, a rare occurrence due to the fragility of bones at that stage.

Xu Xing delivered a lecture on the oviraptorosaur family, noting that the Beibeilong sinensi fossil is a rare and valuable specimen. According to Xu, its return provides "an important window for exploring the mysteries of dinosaur evolution."

The Henan week also includes the donation of a Yulong mini skeleton model to the Shanghai Natural History Museum. Yulong mini, which translates to "miniature Henan dragon", a small theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period, around 75 million years ago, represents one of the smallest known oviraptorosaurs.

Since its opening in late May 2025, China's Dinosaur World has attracted over 150,000 visits.

Source: Shanghai Observer