Tyrannosaurs scavenged their own kind, fossil bite marks show
Updated
Updated · ScienceDaily · May 5
Tyrannosaurs scavenged their own kind, fossil bite marks show
10 articles · Updated · ScienceDaily · May 5
Josephine Nielsen identified 16 tooth marks on a 75-million-year-old metatarsal from Montana's Judith River Formation, indicating a smaller tyrannosaur fed on a larger relative.
The Aarhus University-led study says the foot bone's lack of healing and low meat content suggest late-stage scavenging, with the animal stripping the last remains from an old carcass.
Published in Evolving Earth, the research used high-resolution 3D scans, a printed model and the CM classification system, showing digital techniques can reveal detailed dinosaur behaviour from fragmentary fossils.
New tech proves T. rex was a cannibal. What other dinosaur myths will be shattered next?
If the king of dinosaurs scavenged its own kind, what does this reveal about the nature of apex predators?