A dinosaur as small as a hummingbird became entangled in a blob of resin nearly 100 million years ago. The beak and skull stuck in the resin of conifers and were found in Myanmar in a piece of amber. Scientists put the find in a CT scanner and published their findings today in the scientific journal Nature.
“What is special about this is that it has been preserved in amber. You hardly ever have birds so dumb to be stuck in a dollop of resin,” said Anne Schulp, researcher at Naturalis, in News & Co on NPO Radio 1. “Most birds are too big for this too.” Remnants of smaller animals are better stored in this fossil resin than in, for example, limestone.
The amber that has now been found is barely 3 centimeters long and less than 3 grams in weight. It is therefore a very small bird. “The beak is less than 7 millimeters long, and it contains tiny teeth. He has a small overbite, and would be sent here immediately to the orthodontist.”
The Oculudentavis khaungraae, as the bird is called, is close to the primeval birds. That alone makes it an interesting find, according to Schulp. “Such a primal bird dinosaur head, that is completely special.”
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