This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia, which closed in 2021.

Scientists Discover A 195-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Rib With Tissue Still Attached

It’s the oldest example EVER found.
UNSPECIFIED - FEBRUARY 17: Lufengosaurus huenei, Massospondylidae, Early Jurassic. Illustration. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)
De Agostini Picture Library via Getty Images
UNSPECIFIED - FEBRUARY 17: Lufengosaurus huenei, Massospondylidae, Early Jurassic. Illustration. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

Just weeks into 2017, we already have a contender for the greatest discovery of the year: a sample of dinosaur protein that’s 195-million-years-old.

Found in the rib of a long-necked herbivore, the collagen is 100 million years older than any other protein ever discovered.

It would have once made up the building blocks of the Lufengosaurus’s soft tissue and could shed light on how the ancient creatures evolved.

Skeleton of the 195-million-year-old dinosaur Lufengosaurus preserved as found in the ground in Yunnan Province China.
Robert Reisz
Skeleton of the 195-million-year-old dinosaur Lufengosaurus preserved as found in the ground in Yunnan Province China.

Robert Reisz, a palaeontologist at the University of Toronto, told the BBC: “We hope to be able to learn more about the biology of these animals and the more we know about their soft tissues the more we will know about them overall.”

Normally, the only evidence of soft tissue is in the impressions it leaves in the harder and later fossilised material, such as bones and teeth, surrounding it.

The remarkable preservation is thought to be owed to the presence of hematite, a mineral in blood, which survived with the collagen in the bone canals, according to the study, published in Nature.

The researchers, led by Reisz, discovered the protein using a localised search technique that, unlike alternatives, protect the rest of the fossil from damage.

Close-up of a cross section of the Lufengosaurus rib. It shows how the bone was organised around vascular canals that contained blood vessels.
Robert Reisz
Close-up of a cross section of the Lufengosaurus rib. It shows how the bone was organised around vascular canals that contained blood vessels.

Reisz is now hopeful the technique could pave the way for the discovery of even old proteins, leading to a greater understanding of dinosaurs’ tissue.

“Our localised search, in areas of the bone that are likely to preserve remnants of the original soft tissues, is more likely to succeed than previously used methods,” Reisz said in a statement. “This approach has great future potential, because localized searches will yield important results even when the amount of organic remains is miniscule.”

Here’s hoping for even more dino discoveries in 2017.

Close
This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia. Certain site features have been disabled. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.