‘Pretty amazing:’ Alberta researchers spot new fossil species – and its lunch
EDMONTON — University of Alberta researchers have discovered a new species of ancient underwater lizards in a fossil so well preserved they can see what it had for lunch.
“We know what it was eating,” said Ilaria Paparella, a PhD candidate who worked on the fossil. “We have a tiny fish bone in the stomach.”
Fossils of Primitivus manduriensis were so unspoiled that traces of the 70-million-year-old beast’s scales and muscle tissue were preserved.
“We can actually see the shape of some of the scales and we can see the muscles,” Paparella said. “It’s pretty amazing.”