During the Cretaceous , a stop of time spanning 145 to 66 million years ago , a little feather dinosaur pounce down to the ground to bolt up an unsuspicious lizard , live with it whole . Now , a team of palaeontologistshas unearthed the fossilof this miniskirt dino , arrant with the reptilian bite trapped in its belly .
InCurrent Biology , the scientist describe the fossil ofMicroraptor zhaoianus , which was uncovered in northeastern China and live about 120 million yr ago during the Lower Cretaceous . Microraptorliterally intend " modest thief " and this mark the fourth time these stealthy little hunters have been caught with fossilised critters preserved in their stomachs . The late three specimen contained birds , mammals , and fish .
Often described as having four wings , members of theMicroraptorgenus sported feathering on both their weapon and legs . Whether they could fly is a topic of debate , but they in all probability used their feather appendages to glide about the wood canopy , traveling from tree to tree or else of dither their flank like the bird of today .
But while finding anotherMicroraptorspecimen is certainly exciting , the content of its tummy are perhaps more so . The ill-starred lizard actually turns out to be a new mintage , unlike any other antecedently found from the Cretaceous . NamedIndrasaurus wangi , the former part of its byname refers to Indra , a god who was swallowed by a flying lizard during a fight in Vedic legend . The latter part is a nod to Professor Wang Yuan , director of the Paleozoological Museum of China and scientist at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology ( IVPP ) .
“ The position of the soundbox suggests that the lizard was swallow forefront first , ordered with feeding deportment in extant carnivorous lizards and birds , ” the writer write in theirpaper .
The novel lounge lizard had tooth unlike any other in theJehol Biota – a vast fogey deposit contain puppet that live in northwest China between 133 and 120 million year ago . This , the researchers note , could entail thatI. wangihad a unequalled diet . Fossilized critter and their venter contents have given scientists intriguing insights into predator - prey interactions in the Jehol Biota , with a total of 20 such specimens having been found .
Using this grounds , the researchers of the new study produce the first ever food web of the Jehol Biota , conclude that fish were the most of the essence form of food for big hungry beasties like aquatic reptiles , lizards , dinosaurs , and former shuttle .
