Fossil 120 million years later, bones from a Dinosaur’s snack found in Fossil

• Hans Larsson, Paleontologist, found a small mammal footprint in the ribs of a dinosaur fossil. 
• McGill University said that the reptile was bird-like and carnivorous.
• It is one 21 dinosaur fossils found with food in it. 

The examination of rare fossils revealed that the key to the survival and growth of a small, four winged dinosaur species was not being too fussy about what it ate. 

Hans Larsson, a McGill University professor, was the first person to notice a small mammal’s foot between the bones of a fossilized animal. Microraptor, A carnivorous dinosaur with birdish wings. The discovery reveals that the dino was a carnivore and could have eaten a variety of animals, including mammals, fish, birds, lizards, and more. the university announced in a December 21 press release. 

“These finds are the only solid evidence we have about the food consumption of these long-extinct animals – and they are exceptionally rare,” Larsson said in the release. He said that the discovery that the animal was an “opportunistic eater” “puts a new outlook on how ancient ecosystems may’ve worked.” 

Only 20 other fossils were found with the fossilized bones that their meals were inside. according to McGillThis fossil is the first to show that any dinosaur ate mammals.  the Economic Times reported. 

Microraptor Fossils were first discovered in China in the early 2000s, in Liaoning (northern China), along the Yellow Sea. Scientists have speculated that the species likely died outBecause it had four wings and the two additional wings created drag when moving.

Although it was able to make a snack from all kinds of animals, it may not have been enough to compensate for the two too many wings.