Posted on 12/27/2022 12:33:57 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Around 120 million years ago, four-winged dinosaurs roughly the size of crows called Microraptors stalked the ancient woodlands of what is now China.
While researchers have studied several Microraptor specimens, there's still a lot we don't know about these feathered bird-like creatures – including what and how they ate.
Now an incredibly rare fossil has revealed the preserved final meal of one individual: and unexpectedly, it was a mammal...
The first Microraptor fossil was found in Liaoning, China, in 2000. There are three known species, which lived in the early Cretacious period, and the fossil in question belongs to Microraptor zhaoianus...
The Microraptors were among some of the first dinosaurs that were found with fully feathered wings on both its arms and legs – and alongside the famous feathered dinosaur Archaeopteryx, have reinforced theories that propose modern birds are closely related to categories of dinosaur.
While some studies have shown that Microraptors would have been capable of powered flight, it's generally thought that they mostly used their wings to glide.
Up until now, the small dinosaurs had only been confirmed to eat birds, fish, and lizards, and they were thought to be arboreal hunters that glided down from the trees to capture prey...
It's incredibly rare to find dinosaur fossils that preserve their last meal inside their stomach, they add. Out of all the carnivorous dinosaur fossils that have been found, we only know of 20 that contain their last meals.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencealert.com ...
You’ve obviously never spoken with my family!
Look closer-—I bet there’s some shotgun pellets in there somewhere. They claim it was the last meal and they found 20 of them. That’s because Alley Oop caught that four winger stealing his chickens——at least 20 times. slow learners, that bunch. No wonder they died out. prehistoric dimokrats.
Good one.
;^)
He tried his best, but his brother Gary inherited the wit.
He got grandpa.... to the nth generation.
north of Springfield, MA
Clear as mud!
Grandma meanwhile got run over by a velociraptor.
Don’t waste your time ... it’s just an old folks home ... sign made by a woke young state employee.
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