Scientists have discovered the veins of a dinosaur that lived 80 million years ago

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A few years ago, scientists at North Carolina State University discovered structures similar to blood vessels. Then scientists suggested that the find belongs to a hadrosaur that lived on Earth 80 million years ago, writes IFLScience.

It is known that this animal was 9 meters tall and was a herbivore. The dinosaur had a duck-like body.

In 2015, scientists in their study determined that these structures are almost certainly the remains of real blood vessels that once pumped blood inside the dinosaur. By the way, earlier it was believed that this find – just a biofilm left over from invading bacteria or other contaminants.

The researchers studied the sample using high-resolution mass spectroscopy, which was able to detect several proteins (among them, myosin) found in blood vessel cells.

It is striking that organic structures such as blood vessels and cells , can remain intact for millions of years without fossilization. Despite the fact that these veins bled millions of years ago, they still remain in excellent shape.

The results of the study will open up new ways to search for questions about the evolutionary relationships of extinct organisms, as well as identify significant protein modifications and the time when they might have arisen.

By the way, the blood vessels of dinosaurs – are not the only soft tissues that scientists have gotten to. In fact, it is quite common to find the preserved skin of “mummified dinosaurs”.

Findings like this allow us to see how dinosaurs adapted to their environment when they were alive.

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