Researchers analyzing Aratasaurus bones found structures resembling red blood cells and traces of heme, though some scientists remain skeptical of the findings.
Researchers studying the hind leg bones of an Aratasaurus, a small, meat-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now north-eastern Brazil 115 million years ago, have reported finding structures that resemble fossilized red blood cells.
According to a study appearing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, electron microscope images of the bones revealed small, round structures in fine channels where blood vessels once ran. Chemical tests conducted on the bones identified the presence of heme, which is the organic compound that allows haemoglobin in blood to carry oxygen around the body. Tests also identified traces of the amino acid building blocks for collagen.
Prof Kliti Grice of Curtin University in Western Australia, who led the research team, stated, “We are seeing a mineral and molecular echo of the dinosaur’s original biology.” Grice noted that “Fossilised red blood cells with distinct chemistry related to heme have never been found in situ in any fossil, let alone a dinosaur. This is a world first.”
Grice suggested that a manganese compound called hausmannite, which formed in and around the cells, may have stabilized the structures prior to fossilisation.
The findings have prompted debate within the scientific community. Prof Mary Schweitzer of North Carolina State University expressed doubt regarding the identification of the structures as red blood cells. Schweitzer noted that the dinosaur’s red blood cells should have a “nuclear bulge” making them appear dome-like on both sides, whereas the structures found by Grice are concave.
However, Schweitzer was more persuaded by the discovery of heme and collagen amino acids, stating, “The conventional wisdom in palaeontology that all endogenous organics would disappear in a million years or less is being routinely challenged.”
If the structures are confirmed to be fossilized red blood cells, researchers suggest it could allow for investigations into dinosaur blood, metabolism, and activity levels.
Grice urged caution regarding the implications, stating that the work does not imply that large biological molecules like DNA live on in ancient fossils. “The aim isn’t to find Jurassic Park DNA, it’s to determine how much genuine molecular information deep time can preserve,” Grice said.
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A study of an Aratasaurus museunacionali fossil in Brazil has identified microscopic structures resembling red blood cells and chemical traces of heme.
A study published in PNAS reports the detection of heme-related molecules and ellipsoidal microstructures within the hind limb of an Aratasaurus museunacionali fossil.
