Rare evidence that dinosaurs feasted on mammals uncovered - CNN

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Sometime during the Cretaceous Period, 120 cardinal years ago, a dinosaur wolfed down its past repast — a tiny mammal the size of a mouse. And it’s inactive there.

A researcher with a crisp oculus spotted the mammal’s ft preserved wrong the guts of a fossilized Microraptor zhaoianus, a feathered therapod less than a metre (3 feet) long.

“At first, I couldn’t judge it. There was a tiny rodent-like mammal ft astir a centimeter (0.4 inch) agelong perfectly preserved wrong a Microraptor skeleton,” said Hans Larsson, a prof of biology astatine McGill University’s Redpath Museum successful Montreal. Larsson came crossed the fossil portion visiting depository collections successful China.

“These finds are the lone coagulated grounds we person astir the nutrient depletion of these agelong extinct animals — and they are exceptionally rare,” Larsson said successful a quality release.

The research, which was published successful the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology on December 20, said this was lone the 21st known illustration of a fossilized dinosaur with its past repast preserved.

It’s rarer inactive to find that a mammal was connected the menu; there’s lone 1 different specified illustration presently successful the fossil record.

“We already cognize of Microraptor specimens preserved with parts of fish, a bird, and a lizard successful their bellies. This caller find adds a tiny mammal to their diet, suggesting these dinosaurs were opportunistic and not picky eaters,” Larsson, a coauthor of the study, said successful a statement.

“Knowing that Microraptor was a generalist carnivore puts a caller position connected however past ecosystems whitethorn person worked and a imaginable penetration into the occurrence of these small, feathered dinosaurs,” helium explained.

Generalist predators, similar foxes and crows, are important stabilizers successful today’s ecosystems due to the fact that they tin provender connected respective species, the quality merchandise said. According to the research, the Microraptor is the archetypal known illustration of a generalist carnivore in a dinosaur era.

It was imaginable that different dinosaurs from the therapod family, which included the Tyrannosaurus rex, mightiness besides person shared a likewise unfussy diet, the survey said.

The Microraptor fossil was discovered successful the affluent fossil deposits successful Liaoning successful northeastern China successful the aboriginal 2000s. The specimen, which features plumage connected its limb wings and legs, was 1 of the archetypal feathered dinosaurs to beryllium unearthed.

“While this mammal would perfectly not person been a quality ancestor, we tin look backmost astatine immoderate of our past relatives being a repast for bare dinosaurs,” said survey coauthor Dr. David Hone, a scholar successful zoology astatine Queen Mary University of London, successful a statement.

“This survey paints a representation of a fascinating infinitesimal successful clip — 1 of the archetypal record(s) of a dinosaur eating a mammal — adjacent if it isn’t rather arsenic frightening arsenic thing successful ‘Jurassic Park.’”