At last, a glimpse of dinosaur blood 75 million years later

An ungual claw from an indeterminate theropod where the erythrocyte-like structures were found, is pictured in this undated handout photo provided by Laurent Mekul, June 9, 2015. HANDOUT VIA REUTERS

CANADA: They looked, as one researcher said, like "rubbish," eight seemingly inconsequential Cretaceous Period dinosaur fossils that sat in a London museum's collection for more than a century after being found in Canada's Alberta province.

But a fresh examination revealed the 75 million-year-old fossils to be quite remarkable, boasting microscopic structures that appear to be red blood cells containing nuclei as well as rope-like collagen fibers, scientists said on Tuesday.