Update: The scientific process continues to correct for new information. In this case, the information was evidence from a similar fossil. From Nature: “The paper covered in this video has been retracted and the contents of this video are incorrect. New evidence suggests that the specimen might actually be a lizard, and not a bird-like dinosaur.
The authors of the paper, published in Nature on 11 March, say that their original description of the fossil — a bird-like skull less than 2 centimetres long, its mouth packed with dozens of teeth — is still accurate. But they acknowledge that its classification as a dinosaur is incorrect…
Although the fossil is no longer thought to be the smallest-known dinosaur, [paleontologist Dr. Jingmai] O’Connor and [vertebrate paleontologist Andrea] Cau both say that it is still compelling because of its unusual combination of features.
From June 15th, 2020: A hummingbird-sized skull with tiny teeth is a rare find in science. This one, a previously unknown species named Oculudentavis khaungraae (now “of uncertain taxonomic placement”), was preserved in a lump of amber. Dr. Jingmai O’Connor introduces the 99-million-year-old discovery in Nature‘s Encased in amber: A tiny skull from the age of dinosaurs (now retracted). She explains:
“…paleontology, right now, is being completely transformed by skeletal fossils, fossil vertebrates, preserved in amber. When you have an animal preserved in amber, it looks like it just died yesterday. All the soft tissue in place, trapped in this, you know, window into an ancient time.”
The Mesozoic era-creature’s 14mm long skull was found in northern Myanmar (Burma). The name Oculudentavis means eye tooth bird. From Nature:
First, the skull is dominated by two enormous eye sockets containing scleral ossicles — rings of bone that form the eye skeletons of birds… The opening at the centre of these ossicles is narrow, restricting access for light into the eye and providing strong evidence that Oculudentavis was active in well-lit, daytime environments.
Second, the jaws of Oculudentavis have many small teeth. This might seem odd, given the absence of teeth in today’s birds, but teeth are in fact common among early fossil birds. However, Oculudentavis has more teeth than other birds of the period, and these extend unusually far back in the jaws to a point just under the eye. On the basis of these facts, along with observations of the fossilized tongue, the authors suggest that Oculudentavis was a predator that mainly ate invertebrates.
As O’Connor explains in the video, “if it wasn’t for amber, we wouldn’t know about this minute fauna at all.” Nature shares the science behind the Oculudentavis‘ preservation:
Fossilization of bones in sediments such as clay, silt and sand can crush and destroy the remains of small animals, and can flatten and decay soft parts such as skin, scales and feathers. By contrast, preservation of small animals in Burmese amber (which formed from the resin flows of coniferous trees about 99 million years ago) helps to protect their soft parts. A wide range of invertebrates and small vertebrates, including lizards and birds, have been found in Burmese amber. Specimens preserved in this material are rapidly emerging as an exceptional way to study tiny vertebrates from the age of dinosaurs.
Related reading: Fossils in Burmese amber offer an exquisite view of dinosaur times—and an ethical minefield.
Watch these paleontology videos on TKSST next:
•Dinosaur’s Feathered Tail Found Preserved in Amber
•Archaeopteryx and the Origin of Birds
• Dinsosaurs Among Us
•How do we know what color dinosaurs were?
•How did feathers evolve?
FAQs
A tiny new species of bird-like dinosaur has been discovered, preserved in a lump of 100-million-year-old amber. The tooth-filled skull is only 14.25mm long, suggesting that this ancient creature would have been the size of a hummingbird - far smaller than other dinosaurs known from that time.
What dinosaur was encased in amber? ›
An international team, including scientists affiliated with NHM, discovered the skull of a tiny dinosaur trapped in 99-million-year-old amber from Myanmar. It was about the size of a bee hummingbird, making it the smallest dinosaur discovered yet.
What prehistoric animal was trapped in amber? ›
The little bird-like dinosaur Oculudentavis khaungraae probably dined on insects in a Cretaceous rainforest. A piece of amber less than 1.5 inches wide contains the entire skull of Oculudentavis khaungraae, a newfound type of dinosaur that lived in what is now Myanmar 99 million years ago.
What dinosaur has the smallest skull? ›
O'Connor and a team of researchers report on Wednesday in the journal Nature, and suspended inside of it is the skull of the smallest known bird, and, therefore, dinosaur, ever discovered. They called the bird Oculudentavis khaungraae — a name that comes from the Latin words for eye, teeth and bird.
What fossils are preserved in amber? ›
Scientists have found more than 1,000 fossil species within its amber, including more than 400 species of insect and 150 species of spider. Occasionally vertebrate fossils also pop up, including anoles and even a salamander.
Is there dinosaur DNA in amber? ›
Because despite what Jurassic Park told you, DNA degrades even when preserved in a medium like Amber (or if frozen). There's essentially zero chance of finding intact 65 million year old DNA, and certainly not dinosaur cells, which is what you'd need for cloning.
Are there any dinosaurs preserved in amber? ›
Scientists discovered a fragment of a 99-million-year-old dinosaur tail (bones, tissue, feathers and all) preserved in amber. The amber sample had already been polished for jewellery when scientists discovered that it held a bigger treasure: the first dinosaur feathers preserved in amber.
What is the oldest thing found in amber? ›
Even though arthropods are more than 400 million years old, until now, the oldest record of the animals in amber only dates to about 130 million years. The newly discovered specimens are about 100 million years older, the first amber arthropods ever found from the Triassic Period.
What prehistoric things were found in amber? ›
The insects can be dated back to the Cretaceous period, which occurred 99 million years ago. The animals were all preserved in pieces of amber from a mine in northern Myanmar. The insects—a beetle, a fly, and a wasp—are so well-preserved in the amber that their true color could be identified.
What was the largest thing trapped in amber? ›
The flower Symplocos kowalewskii in Baltic amber. To date, this fossil is by far the largest floral inclusion discovered in any amber.
The Dumbest Dinosaur
Stegosaurus had a brain the size of a walnut - only 3 centimetres long and weighing 75 grams. However, comparing brain size to body size sauropodomorphs, like Plateosaurus, were probably one of the dumbest dinosaurs.
Has a dinosaur skull ever been found? ›
T. rex may not be the king of dinosaurs after all. An unearthed skull has revealed a close relative of the T. rex that may have been even larger than the previously-crowned apex predator.
What is the name of the dinosaur with a skull? ›
Pachycephalosaurs are a type of dinosaur known for their distinctive, thick-boned skulls. Some scientists think the heavy skull dome may have provided protection during head-butting or predator defense, while others say it could have helped attract mates.
What is the oldest amber fossil found? ›
The research shows the 320-million-year-old Southern Illinois amber Anderson and his graduate students found is extremely similar to resins found today, providing an unexpected direct evolutionary tie between modern trees and ancient tree-like plants.
What can be trapped in amber? ›
Much of the material is 20-million-year-old Dominican amber, which has many interesting insects trapped inside it, including flies, lice, beetles, ants, butterflies, moths, and many others. And the mating flies above aren't the only type of behavior captured within these amber pieces.
What is the oldest amber fossil in the world? ›
Geological record. The oldest amber recovered dates to the late Carboniferous period (320 million years ago).
Was dinosaur blood found in amber? ›
Paleontologists have found entombed in amber a 99-million-year-old tick grasping the feather of a dinosaur, providing the first direct evidence that the tiny pests drank dinosaur blood.
Why can't we get dinosaur DNA from amber? ›
Rigorous attempts to reproduce these DNA sequences from amber- and copal-preserved bees and flies have failed to detect any authentic ancient insect DNA. Lack of reproducibility suggests that DNA does not survive over millions of years even in amber, the most promising of fossil environments.
