Deadly Bite of the Cretaceous: How a Crocodile Attacked a Giant Flying Reptile (Photos)

Not only can scientists discover new species of dinosaurs, but they can also find evidence of battles between them while studying the bones and fossils from prehistoric times. Occasionally, truly rare evidence can be uncovered.

A study, published on January 23 in the Journal of Paleontology, revealed unique proof of a crocodilian creature's attack on a pterosaur 76 million years ago. A fossilized vertebra of a young pterosaur, discovered in Dinosaur Provincial Park (Alberta, Canada), shows a puncture that is 4 mm wide.

The lead author of the paper, Dr. Caleb Brown from the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, noted: "Pterosaur bones are very delicate, so findings with clear bite marks from another animal are extremely rare. This specimen – a young pterosaur – is particularly valuable."

The vertebra belonged to the pterosaur Cryodrakon boreas from the Azhdarchidae family. At a young age, its wingspan was about two meters, while adults could reach giraffe-sized dimensions with wingspans of up to 10 meters.

To verify the authenticity of the damage, researchers employed micro-computed tomography. This allowed them to confirm that the puncture is indeed a genuine bite mark, rather than damage incurred during excavation or fossilization.

According to the scientists, this discovery serves as evidence that crocodiles hunted or fed on young pterosaurs in prehistoric Alberta. This finding is the first proof in North America that crocodiles consumed pterosaurs, with similar examples previously documented in Romania.

Note: Pterosaurs, or pterodactyls, were winged reptiles that inhabited the Earth from 220 to 65 million years ago.

Previously, "Telegraph" reported on the unraveling of the origin of the "Devil's Path" in Italy, where tracks of living beings that were ancestors to humans were found on the slopes of a volcano.