Researcher Finds Foot Leave, Mamalia Is In The Microraptor Biography

The remains of mammalian feet in dinosaur intestine fossils. (Source: Hans Larsson/Mclain University)

JAKARTA - Traces of tiny rat-sized mammals that became the last food for dinosaurs were still visible, although they are thought to date back to the Cretaceous Period 120 million years ago.

A researcher with sharp eyes saw a preserved mammal's leg in the frozen intestine of Microraptor zhaoianus, a hairy therapode that was less than one meter long.

"Initially, I didn't believe it. There are tiny mammalian feet like▁perubahanls with a length of about one centimeter (0.4 inches) perfectly preserved inside the framework of the Microraptor," explained Hans Larsson, a professor of biology at the Redpath Museum, University of

Larsson is known to 'find' the fossil while visiting a museum collection in China.

"These findings are the only strong evidence we have about the consumption of food from these extinct animals, and they are extremely rare," Larsson said in a news release.

The study, published in 'Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology' on December 20, said this was just an example of the 21st dinosaur fossil known to its last food preserved.

More rarely to find that mammals are also dinosaur food, there is only one other example that currently exists in the fossil record.

"We already know of specimens of Microraptor preserved with parts of the fish, birds and lizards in its stomach. These new findings add small mammals to their food, suggesting that these dinosaurs were opportunistic and not picky-eating," said Larsson, one of the study's authors, in a statement.

"Knowing that the Microraptor is a generalist carnivorous, provides a new perspective on how the ancient ecosystem works and possible insight into the success of this little hairy dinosaur," he explained.

Generalis predators, such as▁perubahans and highlighters, are important stabilizers in the current ecosystem as they can eat several species, the news release said.

According to research, the Microraptor is an example of the first generalist carnivorous known in the dinosaur era.

It is possible that other dinosaurs from the therapeutic family, including Tyrannosaurus rex, may also have the same diet, the study said.

Microraptor fossils were found in Liaoning fossil deposits in northeastern China in the early 2000s. The specimen, which features fur on the wings of its arms and legs, was one of the first signing dinosaurs to be excavated.

"While these mammals are not humans at all, we can look back at some of our ancient relatives to be food for hungry dinosaurs," study author Dr. David Hone, a zoologous reader at Queen Mary University of London, said in a statement.

"This research illustrates an interesting picture of moments in time one of the first records of dinosaurs eating mammals even if it's not as compact as anything in Jurassic Park," he said.