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Researchers have found fiber and blood particles from ancient animals
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Paleontologists from Taiwan have announced that they have succeeded in extracting the protein collagen from the bones of a dinosaur, a herbivorous animal that lived during the Jurassic period in the lands of what is now southwest China.
Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy was used to extract protein tissue. In addition to collagen, elements of amides and hematite, a mineral substance formed from blood hemoglobin, were found. Most likely, it was hematite that allowed the protein to be preserved in the bones.
Scientists isolated protein, amides and hematite from particles of the intravascular cavities of the rib bones. These are the places in the ribs where the animal's blood vessels and nerve fibers ran.
"Until now we have worked only with soft tissue imprints, and now we have a unique opportunity to see perfectly preserved source material," commented one of the participants in the study, Canadian scientist from the University of Toronto Paleontology Robert Reiss. "I can foresee a situation where we will soon be able to study dinosaur biology in more detail, thanks to such discoveries. For example, the protein particles found can be used as material for determining the kinship of different groups of animals. This will allow us to identify dinosaurs by evolutionary stages, learn more about their lifestyle, analyze their pedigree, and also trace the relationships of lizards in nature."
The protein remains found are about two hundred million years old – and it is truly fortunate that scientists were able to isolate these structures.
The dinosaurs in question are the so-called Lufengosaurus, large lizards about 8 meters long. They had a distinctive long neck, and their fangs and claws were more reminiscent of those of predators - despite the fact that Lufengosaurus were herbivores. Presumably, the claws served as protection from attacks by other representatives of the fauna.
Scientists know a lot about dinosaurs, but the isolated protein tissue samples will help specialists fill in a large amount of missing information. However, the researchers also have one new question: how did the protein particles manage to survive for such a long time? There is only an assumption that this happened due to the mineral substance that formed after the breakdown of the lizard's hemoglobin. The crystals that formed could have become a kind of protective layer from the effects of destructive processes.
The fibrillar protein collagen is considered the main component of living organism tissues. It is present in multicellular organisms, but is absent in plants, unicellular microorganisms, and fungi. Collagen is considered the most common protein substance in mammals: its share in relation to all proteins in the body is about 30%.
The information presented is provided by the scientific journal Nature Communication.
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