Over the past 20 years, scientists have identified 20 predator and prey relationships through stomach contents at the site.Ībout 99 million years ago during the Cretaceous period, a bird foot was preserved in amber. The fact that the Microraptor ate the lizard head-first is similar to the way modern carnivorous birds eat. It’s also the fourth time scientists have found a Microraptor with preserved remains in its stomach, showing that it had a diet of mammals, fish and now lizards. But this lizard’s teeth are completely different from those of any previously found in this area, which broadens the diversity of species known to have lived at the site. Illustration by James Kuetherĭinosaur bones shimmering with opal reveal a new speciesĪll known lizards from the Cretaceous period are closely related to each other, and more than to modern lizards. In this case, the dragon is the Microraptor.Īrtist's reconstruction of Fostoria dhimbangunmal. Indrasaurus refers to the Vedic legend of the god Indra, who was swallowed by a dragon during battle. After studying it, they realized that it was unlike any other lizard known from the Cretaceous period. They weren’t expecting to find a nearly complete lizard within the dinosaur’s stomach. Microraptors were small feathered dinosaurs that resembled birds. Paleontologists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered it when they uncovered a new specimen of Microraptor zhaoianus. The lizard went in head-first and landed in the Microraptor’s stomach. Sometime during the Cretaceous period about 122 million years ago, a Microraptor found itself a tasty treat: an unsuspecting lizard that it swallowed whole. In the other, a bird foot with an unusually long toe was discovered trapped in amber. In one study, a new species of lizard was found perfectly preserved in the stomach of a Microraptor. We know about both thanks to different methods of preservation. But this week, scientists announced the discovery of two previously unknown species in two separate studies published in the journal Current Biology. The fossil record isn’t always kind to preserving the existence of smaller creatures.
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