New Canadian research suggests that the plot of the popular Jurassic Park movies may have been more complicated than it needed to be.
In the movie, researchers found a mosquito encased in amber that contained dinosaur blood, but paleontologists have made a discovery that cuts out the middle man.
A tiny segment of a dinosaur tail, preserved in a chunk of amber was found in Myanmar in 2015. Lida Xing from the China University of Geosciences purchased the amber, and worked with a researcher at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum to identify the features of the tail.
"We are one of the only places on Earth where this sort of research goes on," says Ryan McKellar, Curator of Invertebrate Palaeontology at the RSM.
“The little bit of tail comes from a dinosaur probably about the size of a robin. It may be a hatchling or possibly an extremely small species that’s new to science,” U of A paleontologist Scott Persons said in a written release. “The shape of the tail vertebrae, suggests indicates that the dinosaur was a two-legged carnivore.”
Blood and feathers were also found encased in the amber.
Reasearchers say the discovery is a significant step forward in preserving the past.
"We just got the tip of the tail this time. Next time, we might just get the whole thing," says McKellar.
