An extraordinary fossil found in Pietraroja

Pietraroja - In the Pietraroja area a unique paleontological finding has been made. Here, where there are numerous fossils dating back to the time when these lands were still mostly covered by water, a small dinosaur was found. His scientific name is Scipionyx Samniticus, but amicably the scholars call him Ciro. This dinosaur was very small when he died, measuring just 24 centimeters.

Growing up, however, he wouldn't get much bigger since he belonged to a dwarf species. The peculiarity of its discovery lies in two factors. The first is that its species was previously unknown. The second is that not only the bones have been preserved, but also part of the soft tissues. The intestines, for example, remained almost intact, showing what he ate and his metabolism. This specimen lived 113 million years ago and seems to show how some reptilian dinosaurs evolved into birds. Ciro was preserved thanks to the marine sediments left over when the waters receded.