115-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Bones Preserve Chemical Traces of Red Blood Cells
Paleontologists have discovered chemical traces of red blood cells in the 115-million-year-old fossilized bones of a dinosaur species called Aratasaurus museunacionali. This finding challenges previous assumptions about the survival of biomolecules over geological time.
Why it matters
This discovery opens new possibilities for studying the evolution of metabolism and blood in ancient animals, pushing the boundaries of molecular paleontology.
The fossilized remains belong to Aratasaurus museunacionali , a species of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now northeastern Brazil during the Early Cretaceous epoch, some 115 million years ago.
SEM images showing red blood cell-like structures in the bone of Aratasaurus museunacionali . Image credit: Grice et al ., doi: 10.1073/pnas.2614248123.
“Our findings challenge longstanding assumptions that certain biomolecules such as hemoglobin cannot survive deep time,” said Curtin University’s Professor Kliti Grice, first author of the study.
“It opens exciting new avenues for molecular-level paleontology, allowing us to investigate the evolution of blood, metabolism and even activity levels in ancient animals.”
In the study, Professor Grice and colleagues examined Aratasaurus museunacionali ’s hind-limb bones.
The fossils came from the Mina Pedra Branca site of the Romualdo Formation, which is known worldwide for the large number of well-preserved specimens.
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