2023-07-19 00:53:34
Fossils of the intertwined skeletons were unearthed in China in 2012. The ruler in the image is ten centimeters long. — © Gang Han/Canadian Museum of Nature via REUTERS
Mammals were previously considered too small to attack dinosaurs during the few tens of millions of years they lived together. But the fossil shows a Let’s call him strong again dominating a Psittacosaurus lujiatunensisa four-foot-tall herbivore with a parrot-like beak.
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You can clearly make out the mammal – one of the largest of its time but weighing only a third of the dinosaur – which has sunk its sharp fangs into the ribs of its prey while clutching its hind leg.
Clues that suggest a fight between living animals
The way the two skeletons are intertwined shows that the mammal was not feeding on the corpse of a dinosaur, according to Jordan Mallon. “The dinosaur collapsed and stuck a hind leg of the mammal in the hollow of its knees”, which suggests an attack by the mammal, notes the paleontologist. The skeleton of the dinosaur bears no other bite marks, which would be typical of those left by an animal that has devoured carrion.
While it is rare for mammals to attack animals much larger than themselves, an example still exists today, with the wolverine which was observed attacking a caribou, much larger than itself. The fossil could not determine whether Let’s call him strong again hunted alone or in packs.
The two skeletons, almost complete, were discovered in 2012 in Liaoning, a province in northeastern China. The site, dubbed “Chinese Pompeii,” is home to numerous remains of dinosaurs and other animals preserved in volcanic debris similar to that of the ancient Roman city.
The mammal’s left hind leg clinging to that of the dinosaur. — © Gang Han (Canadian Museum of Nature via AP
A first fossil discovered in 2005 suggested that mammals could feed on dinosaurs. It showed that a small Psittacosaurus had ended up in the stomach of a Repenomamus. But this new fossil is the first proof that “there existed at least a few fiery mammals, around the Cretaceous (…), capable of bringing down an adult dinosaur”, according to Jordan Mallon. The discovery will be exhibited in the museum of a primary school in the Chinese city of Weihai.
How to dispel doubts about the veracity of the fossil
Faced with such an improbable fossil, paleontologists are also seized with a doubt: whether it is the result of a fabrication, for example by the combination of two distinct skeletons. The researchers thus tried to exclude this possibility, tells the New York Times, noting that this is a particularly recurring problem in China, where fossils are sometimes “embellished” to achieve a better market value. Fakes are “a big problem” agrees Jordan Mallon in the North American daily. The scientist explains that the lower jaw of the mammal “effectively plunged into the rock and bit into the ribs of the dinosaur”, and so the two elements could not have simply been placed together. Rock analyzes also show that the composition of the two fossils corresponds to the place of their discovery, not to the peasants. Enough to allow him to affirm that “we are quite convinced that it is an authentic fossil”. Or, if it were to be a counterfeit, it would be “the best I’ve ever seen,” concludes Jordan Mallon.
Quoted by Guardian, paleontologist Steve Brusatte, who was not involved in the study, does not entirely dismiss the uncertainty, pointing out that “scientists did not unearth this specimen themselves. The skeletons are definitely authentic, but I guess the positions of the bones could have been altered.” However, he adds that he hopes that “this doubt will be dispelled as other scientists are able to study the fossil”.
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