120 Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Fossil Hid a Surprising Meal in Its Stomach - CNET

The astonishing luncheon of a cat-size dinosaur has been discovered successful a 120 million-year-old Microraptor fossil. Though the fossil was archetypal described successful 2000, it hid an intriguing and historical secret: A re-analysis of the fossil recovered the ft bones of a mammal wrong the raptor's rib cage -- the archetypal grounds of a dino eating connected a mammal.

The find, described successful the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology connected Tuesday, builds connected the erstwhile probe of the Microraptor zhaoianus fossil, discovered successful the Jiufotang Formation successful occidental China. That fossil is missing the mediate information of its body, but the rib cage is disposable and, within, the bones of a tiny close foot, little than fractional an inch successful size, were perfectly preserved.

Microraptors were three-toed, carnivorous dinosaurs that occupied the trees of past Earth and are among the smallest dinosaurs discovered. Fossils of antithetic microraptor taxon amusement grounds of agelong feathers connected each limb, which whitethorn person utilized for gliding.

As you mightiness expect, being eaten doesn't typically effect successful precise well-preserved fossil remains. All that biting and chewing, positive digestion, typically leaves fewer traces of a meal. However, scientists person a reasonably bully thought of the microraptor fare acknowledgment to fossils with undigested remains successful the stomach. 

A bird, a food and a squamate -- the people of animals containing lizards and snakes -- person each been antecedently found, but the caller find helps overgarment a much implicit representation of what was going down the gullet during a prehistoric degustation. 

"It's truthful uncommon to find examples of nutrient wrong dinosaurs truthful each illustration is truly important arsenic it gives nonstop grounds of what they were eating," said David Hone, a paleontologist astatine Queen Mary University of London and archetypal writer connected the caller study. 

While scientists tin archer a ft ended up successful the microraptor's stomach, they're not definite which taxon it belonged to. The slender digits are akin to tiny, extinct, possum-like mammals known arsenic Sinodelphys or the much mouse-like Eomaia. However, the digits aren't rather agelong capable to beryllium either of these species.

Another outstanding question is whether Microraptor preyed connected the mammal oregon if it simply scavenged the foot. That's intolerable to accidental with this fossil, but immoderate scientists person suggested the microraptor's feathered limbs whitethorn person allowed the taxon to glide from branches and to the crushed to prey connected land-dwelling species. The size of the mammal's ft suggests the carnal would person been successful the size scope expected for microraptor's prey. 

The astounding fossil builds connected erstwhile grounds these smaller three-toed dinosaurs would feast connected immoderate was astir -- it's adjacent imaginable they whitethorn person adjacent eaten plants connected occasion.