In what is now the Jiangxi Province of southern China, scientists have discovered something that would make Alan Grant’s jaw drop through the floor: a fossil of a non-avian dinosaur sitting atop a nest of eggs, in which their fossil embryos have been preserved. The scientists say this is the first time a non-avian dinosaur has been found atop its babies. And that the discovery offers a glimpse of how dinosaurs cared for their clutches as they evolved into big birds.

CNN reported on the discovery, which a multinational team of researchers recently described in a paper published in the journal Science Bulletin. According to the paper, recent studies have shown that many avian features evolved in dinosaurs incrementally; prior to the origin of the clade, Avialae, which consists of the only living dinosaurs: the birds.

“Dinosaurs preserved on their nests are rare, and so are fossil embryos,” co-lead author, Drs. Shundong Bi of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, said in a press release. “This is the first time a non-avian dinosaur has been found, sitting on a nest of eggs that preserve embryos, in a single spectacular specimen,” Bi added.