This animal is known to be 9 meters tall and is a herbivore. The dinosaur had a duck-like body.

Why is this discovery unique?

In a 2015 study, scientists determined that these structures were almost certainly remnants of actual blood vessels that once pumped blood inside the dinosaur. Incidentally, this finding was previously believed to be a biofilm leftover from bacterial invasion or any other contamination.

The researchers examined the sample using high-resolution mass spectroscopy, which can detect several proteins (among them myosin) that occur in blood vessel cells.

Dinosaur veins / Photo: IFLScience

Organic structures such as blood vessels and cells can remain intact for millions of years before they become fossilized. Although blood flowed through these veins millions of years ago, they are still in perfect condition.

Scientists will be able to investigate the modification of proteins

This work is the first direct analysis of the blood vessels of an extinct organism, giving us the opportunity to understand what types of proteins and tissues could be preserved and how they changed during fossilization.
– said the author of the study Tim Cleland.

He added that the results of the study will open new avenues to seek questions about the evolutionary relationships of extinct organisms, as well as allow the identification of important modifications in the protein and the times of their occurrence.

By the way, dinosaurs’ blood vessels aren’t the only soft tissue scientists have found. In fact, it is quite common to find the preserved skin of “mummified dinosaurs”.

Researcher Mary Schweitzer noted that such finds offer an opportunity to see how dinosaurs adapted to their environment while living.