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Israeli Researchers Discover 99-Million-Year-Old Lizard Tail Fossil
Israeli researchers from Tel Aviv University have discovered a 99-million-year-old lizard tail fossil in Myanmar amber, providing the earliest direct evidence of tail shedding as a defense mechanism. The fossil shows a clean detachment point, similar to modern lizards.
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What happened
- 01Israeli researchers found a 99-million-year-old lizard tail fossil in Myanmar amber.
- 02The fossil is the oldest direct evidence of tail shedding as a lizard defense mechanism.
- 03The tail shows a clean detachment point, similar to modern lizards' autotomy.
- 04Micro-CT scanning was used to analyze the fossilized tail within the amber.
- 05The discovery confirms this survival strategy was present during the age of dinosaurs.
The study, published in Palaeontologia Electronica, used micro-CT scanning to analyze the specimen. While the exact lizard species is unknown, the finding confirms this survival strategy existed during the age of dinosaurs.
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