Discovery of a trace fossil containing the remains of miniscule squamates and the feathered arm of a tiny bird-like therapod

Abstract Micropaleontology is the study of microscopic fossils such as coccoliths, foraminifera, diatoms, radiolaria, and pollens. These diminutive fossils range in size from 0.001 to 1 mm and are the most abundant and ancient of Earth’s fossils1. I now report the finding of a colony of tiny squamates ranging in size from 0.13 to 10.0 mm (snout-to-vent length) on a Cretaceous period trace fossil from Hamblen County, Tennessee. The dorsal (older) surface contains the remains of a miniscule saurian neonate (prop. M. hamblensis) and three juvenile saurians undergoing body elongation and limb reduction, findings in keeping with a lizard-to-snake transformation2. The ventral surface contains the remains of a colony of tiny snakes including 4 birthing rookeries with egg embryos. Also found is the feathered arm of a tiny bird-like therapod.