Fosil Kaki Microraptor Buktikan Perilakunya Mirip Elang saat Menangkap Mangsa

The translation of the given 'Bahasa' text to 'English' while preserving any html tags is as follows: "Fossilized Microraptor Legs Prove Their Behavior Resembles That of an Eagle when Catching Prey"

"Fossil of Microraptor's Legs Prove Its Behavior Similar to Eagle when Capturing Prey"

"Modern birds evolved from dinosaurs, but it is still unclear to what extent their dinosaur ancestors were capable of flying. Now, through the study of fossilized footprints of a non-avian dinosaur, it has been discovered that this dinosaur may have hunted in the air, similar to some current eagles."

Microraptor, which is the size of a crow, has soft legs that are very similar to those of modern eagles that are capable of hunting in the air, according to a report by researchers on December 20 in the journal Nature Communications. This means that the four-winged dinosaur, reported by paleobiologist Michael Pittman from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and his colleagues, may have used its legs to catch flying prey.

"Strengthening Hypothesis"

A number of other researchers warn that the presence of soft feet alone is not enough to declare Microraptor as an airborne hunter. However, if such claims are proven true, hunting style like that would strengthen the still debated hypothesis that powered flight evolved multiple times among dinosaurs, an achievement previously thought to be only possessed by birds.

Soft pads are layers of scaly flesh on the bottom of a dinosaur's feet, similar to "paws" on dogs and cats.

Because soft feet are the points where animals interact with the surface, soft feet provide paleontologists with "an understanding of where reality takes place," said Alexander Dececchi, a paleontologist at Mount Marty University in Yankton, S.D., who was not involved in this new research.

The following is the translation of the given 'Bahasa' text to 'English' while preserving any HTML tags: "These contact points can provide a clearer picture of the behavior of an animal by providing "details that will not be shown by the skeleton itself," said Thomas Holtz Jr., a dinosaur paleobiologist at the University of Maryland in College Park, who was involved in the research."

Fosil Kaki Microraptor Buktikan Perilakunya Mirip Elang saat Menangkap Mangsa

To investigate the softness of dinosaur feet, Pittman and his colleagues attempted to go to the Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature in Linyi, China.

According to Pittman, this museum "may have the largest collection of feathered dinosaurs in the world, and, more importantly, they have not been extensively prepared."

Many of these dinosaur skeletons are still surrounded by rocks, where soft tissues can be preserved.
The translation of the given 'Bahasa' text to 'English' while preserving the HTML tags is as follows: Type of specimen like this "gives us the best opportunity to discover this amazing software network information," he said.

Source: Science News

By using a special laser that creates almost invisible soft tissue on shining fossils, the team discovered 12 specimens with well-preserved soft feet among the thousands examined.

The team compared the soft feet of fossilized legs with 36 types of modern birds, whose soft feet varied according to their lifestyle. Predatory birds, for example, have prominent soft feet with spiky scales to catch prey, while ground-dwelling birds that spend their time walking and running have flatter soft feet. Analysis shows that the soft feet of Microraptor and other aspects of the legs, such as the shape of the toe joints and claws, are most similar to those of modern eagles.

The similarity shows that this dinosaur can hunt prey in the air and on the ground, just like eagles do, said the research team.

Other dinosaurs, like the feathered Anchiornis, had softer and flatter feet and straighter claws, indicating a terrestrial lifestyle. This aligns with the idea that these dinosaurs were not proficient at flying, said Pittman.

"Like an Eagle"

The concept that Microraptor hunted like an eagle is consistent with other fossil evidence. One Microraptor fossil was found with a bird in its stomach, and the skeletal anatomy and soft tissue of Microraptor indicate powered flight ability.

"There is still a lot of work to be done to find out how well the dinosaur can fly."
"Microraptor is not a bird, but a close relative. Just because it has bird-like legs doesn't mean it has to catch prey in the same way," said Pittman."

However, Microraptor's lifestyle, like that of an eagle, "is a strong possibility," he added.

Benefits of Flying for Microraptor

Flying can be beneficial for Microraptor when hunting, although it is not comparable to modern flying birds. Dececchi speculates that the anatomy of Microraptor may prevent it from flying faster than birds, but may help it surprise otherwise hard-to-reach prey, including flying and gliding animals.

"\u201cYou just need to be fast enough or aerobatic to catch other objects in your environment,\u201d said Holtz."
"So, it is not impossible that [Microraptor] sometimes catches something in the air."

Source: Science News

Some paleontologists are more skeptical of the idea that Microraptor hunted in the air. "For me, it would be a bit excessive to state that Microraptor chased prey in an aerial context," said Albert Chen, a paleobiologist at the University of Cambridge. This new finding only provides information about "how the legs were used." Alternative hypotheses, such as fully or partially hunting on land, could also be consistent with the data, said Holtz, but "the legs definitely play a major role in capturing their prey," both on land and in the air.

Currently, the ecological picture of Microraptor is still unclear, but with the increasing resolution of images through the use of lasers, our understanding of dinosaur flight may reach a new level.

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