Advertisement.

EnchantedLearning.com is a user-supported site.
As a bonus, site members have access to a banner-ad-free version of the site, with print-friendly pages.
Click here to learn more.

ad
(Already a member? Click here.)


T. rex skull ZoomDinosaurs.com
Dinosaur
News
Scipionyx, Small Theropod Found in Italy
Internal organs and muscle tissue fossilized
March 28, 1998

One of the most important recent dinosaur finds is a tiny theropod (meat-eater) fossil found in Cretaceous limestone in southern Italy near Naples. Although it was unearthed 10 years ago by an amateur fossil hunter and thought at first to be a bird, its true importance was not realized until lately. It is a very important specimen in that it has fossilized impressions of many of its internal organs and muscles, including the intestines, colon, windpipe, liver, and more. Its intestines are shorter than had been expected, indicating that it had a very efficient digestive system.

This details visible in this fossil are rare since the soft tissues from an animal do not usually fossilize; they almost always rot before mineral replacement can take place. As it is studied, this new fossil will yield a lot of information about dinosaur's anatomy and physiology as it is studied.

The fossils is a very young theropod, perhaps a maniraptor (related to Velociraptor). It is a hatchling 9.5 inches (24 cm) long. It dates from 113 million years ago (during the Cretaceous period) and has been named Scipionyx samniticus. During the Cretaceous period it lived near a shallow lagoon. The fossils now resides at the Archaeological Administration in Salerno, Italy.

References: Cristiano Dal Sasso and Marco Signore in Nature, vol. 392 (March 26, 1998):383-387
Ruben et al., "Pulmonary Function and Metabolic Physiology of Theropod Dinosaurs," 22 January 1999, Vol. 283, _Science_, pp. 514-516.

RELATED LINKS
Other fossils found in Europe.

Chart of geological time.




Enchanted Learning®
Over 35,000 Web Pages
Sample Pages for Prospective Subscribers, or click below

Overview of Site
What's New
Enchanted Learning Home
Monthly Activity Calendar
Books to Print
Site Index

K-3
Crafts
K-3 Themes
Little Explorers
Picture dictionary
PreK/K Activities
Rebus Rhymes
Stories
Writing
Cloze Activities
Essay Topics
Newspaper
Writing Activities
Parts of Speech

Fiction
The Test of Time

Biology
Animal Printouts
Biology Label Printouts
Biomes
Birds
Butterflies
Dinosaurs
Food Chain
Human Anatomy
Mammals
Plants
Rainforests
Sharks
Whales
Physical Sciences: K-12
Astronomy
The Earth
Geology
Hurricanes
Landforms
Oceans
Tsunami
Volcano
Languages
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Japanese (Romaji)
Portuguese
Spanish
Swedish
Geography/History
Explorers
Flags
Geography
Inventors
US History

Other Topics
Art and Artists
Calendars
College Finder
Crafts
Graphic Organizers
Label Me! Printouts
Math
Music
Word Wheels

Click to read our Privacy Policy

E-mail


Enchanted Learning Search

Search the Enchanted Learning website for:



Advertisement.

Advertisement.



Copyright ©1996-2018 EnchantedLearning.com ------ How to cite a web page