Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Study succeeds in solving the fossil riddle that has been fussed over as world’s smallest dinosaur and is embedded in a 99 million -year -old amber stone and proves the skeleton is prehistoric lizard.
Previously, this fossil had caused debate among experts, because some called it the smallest dinosaur in the world.
However, research published last March 2020 in the journal Current Biology confirms that the fossil is not a dinosaur, but is believed to be an ancient species of lizard (Oculudentavis naga) of the genus Oculudentavis.
The name naga is used to honor the beliefs of the Naga tribes in India and Myanmar where this amber is found.
Then, the study was strengthened in a new study released Monday (14/6) with better amber specimens.
“It’s a really weird animal. It’s not like any other lizard we have today,” said new study co-author Juan Diego Daza, a herpetologist and assistant professor of biological sciences at Sam Houston State University in Texas.
“We estimate that many lizards date back to this time, but they still haven’t developed their modern look,” he added
That’s why the fossil can fool researchers. They may have various characteristics of the group, but in reality, they are only part of the lizard.
They said the prehistoric lizard was from the same family or genus as Oculudentavis khaungraae, but likely a different species. Oculudentavis khaungraae is the smallest bird fossil discovered last year.
Oculudentavis means ‘eye-toothed bird’ in Latin. But Daza said taxonomic rules for naming and organizing animal species meant the name should continue to be used even if it was inaccurate.
“Because Oculudentavis was the name originally used to describe this taxonomy, it has priority and we have to keep it (though not very accurate),” Daxa said.
The fossil found in an amber mining area in Myanmar is a specimen of Oculudentavis.
The fossil consists of a lizard’s skeleton, including its skull, with visible scales and soft tissue. Both pieces of amber are 99 million years old.
The researchers found the creature difficult to categorize, but by using CT scans to separate, analyze and compare each bone from the two species, they were able to detect characteristics and identify the animal as a lizard.
This includes the presence of teeth that are attached directly to the jawbone, such as the teeth of dinosaurs that have eye structures like lizards.
Quoted CNN, there are shoulder bones and a hockey stick-shaped skull that is universally shared by other scaly reptiles.
Quoted Scitechdaily, The authors believe that the skulls of both species have been deformed as amber, which is made from the bark of ancient trees, hardened around them.
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