Archaeologists have unearthed an astonishing fossil of a dinosaur and a badger-like mammal locked in an eternal battle to the death.
The 125-million-year-old fossil captures the dramatic moment when a large plant-eating dinosaur was attacked by a carnivorous mammal.
This is among the first evidence to show that mammals attacked larger dinosaurs, and not just their young.
The dinosaur found in the well-preserved fossil is a type of Psittacosaurus, which was about the size of a large dog, with a length of about 120 cm. Its name means “parrot lizard”.
Meanwhile, the mammal in the fossil pair is represented by a badger-like animal, called Repenomamus robustus, which measured about 47 cm in length.
R. robustus was among the largest mammals during the Cretaceous period, a time when dinosaurs ruled.
The fossil was collected in China’s Liaoning Province, and both skeletons are nearly complete.
The fossil shows the mammal atop its prey, grasping the jaws of the larger dinosaur.
He can also be seen biting the ribs of the dinosaur, while using his hind foot to grab the hind leg of the dinosaur.
It is believed that the duo was suddenly buried by mudslides and debris after a volcanic eruption.
Dr Jordan Mallon, a co-author of the study from the Canadian Museum of Nature, said: “The two animals are locked in deadly combat, so closely intertwined, that this is among the first evidence to show the behavior of an actual predatory mammal against a dinosaur. The coexistence of these two animals is not new, but What is new in science with this amazing fossil is the predatory animal behavior that this fossil exhibits.”
The results have been published in the journal Scientific Reports.
