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Bite Marks on 70-Million-Year-Old Tyrannosaur Jaw Suggests Raptor 30 Times Smaller May Have Snacked on the Predator
Yahoo • • science
Key Points:
- Researchers at the University of Alberta have found the first documented evidence of a small raptor feeding on a tyrannosaur, based on tooth marks on the jaw of a young Albertosaurus.
- The Albertosaurus, estimated to be 10 or 11 years old and about 20 feet long, showed bite marks likely made by a 35-40 pound dromaeosaurid, suggesting scavenging rather than active predation.
- The unhealed nature of the tooth marks indicates the bites were made around or after the Albertosaurus' death, making scavenging the most plausible explanation over cannibalism.
- The fossil was discovered in Saskatchewan, Canada, and is now housed at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, providing new insights into predator-prey interactions among Late Cretaceous dinosaurs.
