Fossils of two Triassic reptiles show severed heads and necks with bite marks, highlighting a weakness of the extremely long necks common to many ancient sea creatures.
, also at the Stuttgart museum, used high-resolution photography and 3D modelling to assess the fossils of two species,on display at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.
The 242-million-year-old specimens included two complete, well-preserved skulls and two equally well-preserved, but abruptly shortened spines – with one animal having only 10 of its 13 neck vertebrae, and the other only seven. Both necks had multiple bite marks, including one that showed the telltale signs of a break caused by a violent impact, the researchers say.
Traces of teeth in both specimens reveal that a predator attacked from behind and above, crushing and completely severing the neck. In one specimen, a predator appeared to have bitten into the bone and then pulled back. The bites were so far below the head that the animals probably didn’t see their attackers coming, says Mujal.A monthly celebration of the biodiversity of our planet’s animals, plants and other organisms.
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