Dinosaur Blood Cells Found in 115-Million-Year-Old Fossil

An international research team led by Curtin University has discovered dinosaur blood cells and intact heme-derived molecules in a 115-million-year-old fossil, marking a scientific first. The findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, detail mineralized red blood cells found in vascular canals of an Aratasaurus museunacionali limb bone from northeastern Brazil. Lead author Professor Kliti Grice called the discovery a landmark that extends the known fossil record of blood. The preserved molecules offer a direct molecular window into dinosaur physiology, potentially improving understanding of long-extinct animals and their environments, though researchers note this does not enable dinosaur resurrection.