An Ichthyosaur’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day 160 million years ago
A rare fossil find shows a tooth embedded an ichthyosaur’s vertebra, where it was likely left when a giant pliosaurid chomped down on this dolphin-resembling reptile
An ichthyosaur, a prehistoric marine reptile resembling a large dolphin, experienced a tragic day around 160 million years ago off the coast of present-day Peterborough, England. The ichthyosaur was likely foraging for fish and ammonites when it encountered a pliosaurid, a much larger predator with a massive head and bite force.
A tooth from the pliosaurid was embedded in the vertebra of the ichthyosaur, most likely due to a fatal bite. This find provides rare evidence of the violent encounters between these ancient sea monsters. Researchers used advanced imaging techniques to confirm the tooth's origin and determined that the fossil was likely preserved due to the predator's attack rather than scavenging.
Paleontologists speculate that the ichthyosaur's head and tail likely fell off after the attack, leaving only a severely injured creature. This discovery underscores the importance of mining data from old museum collections to uncover insights into the past.
Written by urgent.news from Scientific American's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
