SCIENTIFIC EDUCATIONAL CENTER science idea

Paleontologists have put an end to the debate about a strange animal found in Cretaceous amber: it is not a primitive bird that still retained its teeth in its beak, but an ancient scaly lizard.

Last year, Chinese paleontologists presented an amazing find — a fragment of ancient amber, which perfectly preserved the remains of one of the most miniature dinosaurs in history. The sample was dated to be about 99 million years old. Using a tiny (just over seven millimeters) skull, scientists described a new species of flying dinosaur, Oculudentavis khaungraae, which, at a size comparable to a hummingbird, still retained dozens of small and sharp teeth in its beak.

Even then, the work caused controversy, because many details of the animal's anatomy were too unlike either dinosaurs or birds. This is also indicated by the recent work of European scientists who discovered and studied new remains, also preserved in amber.

The authors note that the animal's teeth were directly connected to the bones of the jaw, which is unusual for the ancestors of modern birds who had teeth. In addition, the new specimen preserved individual scales that covered the scalp, and the shape of its scaly bone, located at the back of the skull, is close to the shape characteristic of scaly reptiles (Squamata), which include snakes and lizards, but not birds and dinosaurs.

Apparently, they do not belong to the same, but closely related species: the authors called it Oculudentavis naga. Together with O. khaungraae, they represent an extinct group of scaly reptiles previously unknown to scientists.

The article by Arnau Bolet and his colleagues from the Catalan Institute of Paleontology is published in the journal Current Biology
Image-Reconstruction of Oculudentavis naga © Stephanie Abramowicz, Peretti Museum Foundation

Source: naked-science.ru, sci-dig.ru