Researchers discovered a new species of crocodile living around 95 million years ago in Australia that ate a dinosaur as its final course. Its fossils were initially discovered in 2010 near the Winton Formation in Eastern Australia, a rock bed from the Cretaceous period, when most of the commonly known dinosaurs were roaming Earth.
They noticed that there were a number of small bones belonging to another animal within the fossils, some of which were partially crushed. Currently, the small bones have been determined as originating from a dinosaur, said researchers at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum in the journal Gondwana Research.
The creature was missing its tail and limbs, but had a near-complete skull, adding up 35% of the animal to be preserved. X-ray and CT scans were applied to discover what bones were on the inside of the fossils.
The findings showed the remains belonged to a 4-pound juvenile ornithopod, a group of plant-eating dinosaurs that included duck-billed creatures. The ornithopod's remains also were the first of their kind found in Australia, suggesting it is a newly discovered species.
"While Confractosuchus would not have specialized in eating dinosaurs, it would not have overlooked an easy meal, such as the young ornithopod remains found in its stomach," said one of the researchers.
Researchers believed that dinosaurs possibly made up for an essential source in the Cretaceous food chain. “Given the lack of comparable global specimens, this prehistoric crocodile and its last meal will continue to provide clues to the relationships and behaviors of animals that inhabited Australia millions of years ago.”
They noticed that there were a number of small bones belonging to another animal within the fossils, some of which were partially crushed. Currently, the small bones have been determined as originating from a dinosaur, said researchers at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum in the journal Gondwana Research.
Source: Julius Csotonyi
The creature was missing its tail and limbs, but had a near-complete skull, adding up 35% of the animal to be preserved. X-ray and CT scans were applied to discover what bones were on the inside of the fossils.
Source: Pixabay
The findings showed the remains belonged to a 4-pound juvenile ornithopod, a group of plant-eating dinosaurs that included duck-billed creatures. The ornithopod's remains also were the first of their kind found in Australia, suggesting it is a newly discovered species.
Source: Julius Csotonyi
"While Confractosuchus would not have specialized in eating dinosaurs, it would not have overlooked an easy meal, such as the young ornithopod remains found in its stomach," said one of the researchers.
Source: Australian Age of Dinosaurs
Researchers believed that dinosaurs possibly made up for an essential source in the Cretaceous food chain. “Given the lack of comparable global specimens, this prehistoric crocodile and its last meal will continue to provide clues to the relationships and behaviors of animals that inhabited Australia millions of years ago.”
Source: ScienceDirect