Artist’s conception of Microraptor, a small flying dinosaur, eating a fish it has caught. (Illustration: Emily Willoughby)
UAlberta research yields first evidence that "microraptors" could catch prey in the water as well as on land. University of Alberta-led research reveals that Microraptor , a small flying dinosaur, was a complete hunter—able to swoop down and pick up fish as well as its previously known prey of birds and tree-dwelling mammals. Scott Persons , a paleontology graduate student at the U of A, says new evidence of Microraptor 's hunting ability came from fossilized remains in China. "We were very fortunate that this Microraptor was found in volcanic ash and its stomach content of fish was easily identified." Before this discovery, paleontologists believed microraptors, which were about the size of a modern-day hawk, lived in trees where they preyed exclusively on small birds and mammals about the size of squirrels. "Now we know that Microraptor operated in varied terrain and had a varied diet," said Persons. "It took advantage of a variety of prey in the wet, forested environment that was China during the early Cretaceous period, 120 million years ago." Further analysis of the fossil revealed that its teeth were adapted to catching slippery, wiggling prey like fish. Dinosaur researchers have established that most meat-eaters had teeth with serrations on both sides, which helped the predator saw through meat like a steak knife.
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