Sometimes, fossils tell us unexpected stories. And scientists have the opportunity to meet vestiges of violent scenes from the past. This is what happens, for example, with fossil with signs of bite. He appeared in Canada and became an interesting curiosity.
This is the finding of a fossilized bone of the neck of a flying reptile in Canada. It shows clear signs of having been bitten by a creature similar to a crocodile. When did this happen? 76 million years ago, suggests a recent study published in the magazine ‘Journal of Paleontology’.

Unusual bite
The fossil belongs to the vertebra of a youth pterodactyl. It was discovered in the Provincial Park of Dinosaurs, in Alberta, Canada. It presents a circular bite brand of four millimeters wide from a crocodile tooth. The preserved length, that is, incomplete, of the specimen is 5.8 cm. The estimated total length of the vertebra is 9.4 cm.
«Pterodactyl bones are very delicate. Therefore, finding fossils in which another animal has clearly given a bite is exceptionally unusual. The fact that this specimen is youthful [lo hace] Even more rare, ”said Dr. Caleb Brown. He is paleontologist of the Real Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology and main author of the study.
The article also shows that this new bone documents something unpublished. It is the first evidence in North America of old crocodiles feedingly feeding on these gigantic prehistoric flying reptiles.

High as a giraffe
The perforated vertebra belongs to a young Azhdarchid pterodactyl (Cryodrakon Boreas). It has an estimated two meters. The adults of this species would be as high as a giraffe, with a wingspan of about ten meters.
The researchers used microcomputarized tomography and comparisons with other bones of the same species. Thus they were able to confirm that the drilling was not the result of damage during fossilization or excavation, but a real bite, the study indicates.
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