The skull of Oculudentavis khaungraae was found in a globule of amber in Myanmar, offering researchers a startlingly clear view of its features.Paris: Tinier than the teeniest bird, older than T-Rex and perfectly preserved for eternity: scientists have identified a 100-million-year-old flying dinosaur encased in amber that may be the smallest yet discovered.
"When I first saw it I was blown away," said Jingmai O'Connor, a paleontologist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and lead author of the study published in Nature on Wednesday.
The preserved skull is just 7.1 millimetres (less than one-third of an inch) long, likely making it the smallest dinosaur yet discovered.
Despite its minuscule size, researchers believe it hunted insects, using its sharp teeth and large eyes to home in on prey.
Unlike fossils encased in rock, amber specimens still retain their soft tissue, showing scientists their original colour and morphology.
"We think it's a bird -- the skull has a shape that only occurs in birds and some dinosaurs," she said, "However there are no skull characteristics that define birds therefore it could be a dinosaur or even something else."