A tiny foot resembling that of a rodent has just been found inside a skeleton of a carnivorous dinosaur, allowing us to learn more regarding the diet of the Microraptor.
The discovery on this small dinosaur commonly called the “little thief”, which is regarding the size of a crow, was made by a professor at McGill University in Montreal, Hans Larsson.
“These finds are the only solid evidence we have of the food consumption of these long-extinct animals and they are exceptionally rare,” confirmed Hans Larsson, who discovered the fossil while visiting museum collections in China.
The find revealed that this small predator fed on small mammals. Researchers already knew that this type of dinosaur fed on fish, birds and lizards.
According to the team of researchers who looked into this excavation, this might be the first evidence of a generalist carnivore in dinosaur ecosystems. It is indicated that the animal was probably not very picky in feeding from several sources.
“Knowing that Microraptor was a generalist carnivore provides new insight into how ancient ecosystems functioned and possible insight into the success of these small, feathered dinosaurs,” added the McGill University professor.
