There’s only so much palaeontologists can learn about prehistoric animals from fossilized bones, so on rare occasions when ancient soft tissues turn up, it’s worth taking note. Recent discoveries of preserved brains, cartilage and skin have provided some unique insights into how dinosaurs may have looked and sounded, and now a section of a dinosaur’s tail, complete with feathers, has been found trapped in a piece of amber.
The study’s first author, Lida Xing, uncovered the relic, but not at a dig site – it turned up at an amber market in Myanmar in 2015. Originally thought to contain some kind of plant, Xing saved the important find from becoming a tacky piece of jewellery, and the Dexu Institute of Palaeontology snapped it up for study.
via New Atlas
