"Very rare discovery" unveils one of the first records of a dinosaur eating a mammal - CBS News

200-million-year-old dinosaur tracks recovered

Dinosaur footprints recovered connected formation successful Wales whitethorn beryllium 200 cardinal years old, researchers say 01:03

It's not uncommon for scientists to uncover caller fossils from the ages of dinosaurs, but each present and then, a find reveals overmuch rarer information. 

Scientists unearthed the fossil of the tiny and feathered microraptor zhaoianus backmost successful 2000, but lone precocious did 1 researcher drawback a "very uncommon discovery" — different carnal wrong of its remains. Professor Hans Larsson of Montreal's McGill University recovered that the fossil really displayed the ft of an past mammal close betwixt the ribs. 

But don't interest — researcher David Hone of the Queen Mary University of London said it "would perfectly not person been a quality ancestor." 

A rendered representation of the Microraptor zhaoianus. Ralph Attanasia III

Microraptors lived successful forests of what is present China astir 120 cardinal years ago. They were astir the size of a crow, with agelong feathers, and are thought to person glided done the trees to hunt for tiny animals. But that's what makes this peculiar uncovering truthful interesting, researchers said. 

After analyzing the digested animal's foot, it seems arsenic though it was a mouse-sized carnal bound to the crushed and not a peculiarly bully climber, indicating that the microraptor apt would person abandoned its tree-top hunt for a land-based snack. Past studies of the feathered dinosaur person revealed they consumed birds, lizards and fish. 

"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," Hone said. "...This survey paints a representation of a fascinating infinitesimal successful clip – 1 of the archetypal grounds of a dinosaur eating a mammal — adjacent if it isn't rather arsenic frightening arsenic thing successful Jurassic Park."

Close-up presumption of mammal foot. Journal of Vertebrate Peleontology

The probe was published successful the Journal of Vertebrate Peleontology connected Tuesday. 

A property merchandise from Hone's university said that the uncovering makes it wide this peculiar benignant of dinosaur had a "diverse fare and was not a specializer connected immoderate fixed option." However, the assemblage besides noted that researchers are uncertain whether the tiny mammal successful the raptor's belly was a nonstop prey oregon an already-dead carnal that had been scavenged. 

Fellow researcher Alex Dececchi of South Dakota's Mount Marty College compared the dinosaur to a location cat, a carnal of astir the aforesaid size. 

"Microraptor would person been an casual carnal to unrecorded with but a panic if it got retired arsenic it would hunt everything from the birds astatine your feeder to the mice successful your hedge oregon the food successful your pond," Dececchi said. 

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