On March 12th, 22, a team of Chinese and foreign scientists announced in Beijing that they had discovered a tiny new species and genus of carnivorous dinosaurs in Cretaceous amber in Myanmar? The kuanya-eyed toothed bird represents the smallest dinosaur so far. This discovery is of great significance to further explore the evolution of dinosaurs and ancient birds, especially the morphological evolution of miniaturized animals. The related research paper "Dinosaurs as Big as Hummingbirds in Cretaceous in Myanmar" was recently published in the internationally renowned academic journal Nature. ?

Strange Mesozoic specimens

This study was conducted by Xing Lida, an associate professor at China Geo University, Zou Jingmei, a foreign researcher at the Institute of vertebrate paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Lars? Dr. schmitz, Li Gang, a researcher at the Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Louis? Professor Chapp, Ryan, Royal Museum of Saskatchewan, Canada? Professor McKellar, Dr. Yi Qiru from Beijing Comprehensive Research Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences and other scholars * * * completed it together.

According to reports, this amber fossil was produced in Hugang Valley, Kachin State, northern Myanmar. Geologists determined the geological age of volcanic ash zircon isotopes in this mining area and thought that amber in Hugang Valley was formed about 99 million years ago, belonging to the middle Cretaceous period. The humid tropical environment and a large amount of amber that preserves paleontology here also make Hugang Valley considered as the best window to show the real Cretaceous world.

The skull in amber is only about 14 mm long, with a sharp beak, dense teeth and huge eyes. Judging from the skeletal characteristics, what does this animal have? Four unlike? Some are like dinosaurs and some are like very advanced birds.

In a word, the size and shape of the eye-toothed bird show us a new kind of body structure and the ecology it represents. This discovery highlights the potential of amber deposits to reveal the smallest vertebrates. However, there is still some uncertainty in the classification of the eye-toothed bird because it only has its head. Scholars will continue to search in Mimbo, hoping to find a more complete individual in the future and uncover all the secrets of the toothed bird.

This research was supported by the Basic Science Center Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the major projects of the National Natural Science Foundation, the research equipment development project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility, the Shanghai Light Source, the general projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Geographic Society of the United States, as well as the synchrotron radiation time support.