New Dinosaur Fossil Has Soft Tissue That's 75 Million Years Old

Scientists have made a startling find. They've uncovered ancient dinosaur fossils that may actually have soft tissue left over including collagen fibers.

The fossil itself looks to be poorly preserved, and is dated at about 75 million years. Yet even though they're poorly preserved, scientists have detected what look like soft tissue remnants. Previously, they've only found soft tissue in dinosaur fossils that have been exceptionally well preserved.

The researchers examined part of a fossilized dinosaur claw and identified tiny structures that look ovoid with an inner denser core. These could potentially be red blood cells, though researchers need further evidence before they can confirm this. If these are red blood cells, though, they could help researchers understand when dinosaurs evolved a warm blooded, bird-like metabolism.

In another fragment, the scientists found structures that looked fibrous and had a banded structure similar to the banding that can be seen in modern day collagen fibers. Because collagen varies between animal groups, the researchers could use this as a type of fingerprint to link related creatures.

"We still need to do more research to confirm what it is that we are imaging in these dinosaur bone fragments but the ancient tissue structures we have analyzed have some similarities to red blood cells and collagen fibers," said Sergio Bertazzo, one of the researchers, in a news release. "If we can confirm that our initial observations are correct, then this could yield fresh insights into how these creatures once lived and evolved."

The findings also may hint that soft tissue in dinosaur fossils may be more widespread than previously thought. Although remnants of soft tissue have previously been found in exceptionally preserved fossils, this study shows that these soft tissues can also be found in poorly preserved fossils.

The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.

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