Nicole, the prehistoric
Lee Schiel, an amateur palaeontologist and a dealer in rare fossils in Los Angeles, USA, has claimed to have discovered a dinosaur egg containing an embryo of the prehistoric creature. His find is yet to be studied by experts. Schiel released a CAT scan image at a press conference on September 11 which shows a dinosaur embryo inside the rock-hard, fossilised egg that has been believed to be 65 to 125 million years old. Schiel has named the embryo "Nicole'.
The egg was part of a nest discovered in Hunan province in east central China in 1994. "They were actually discovered about 20 years ago and farmers used them to plug holes in walls,' said Schiel. The egg was purchased by a private owner who gave it to Schiel for examination and display at Chapman University, Orange, USA, from where he has graduated.
In California, Schiel decided to get a CAT scan image of the egg at the Methodist Hospital of Southern California. The image was ready on September 9. "I have never seen anything like that,' said John Nesson, the chief radiologist at the hospital. "This is the most complete embryonic dinosaur in an egg ever known. Certainly, you have got the top find in the last 20 years across all the sciences,' said Steve Conkling, an independent palaeontologist who assessed the image.