This may have been a pressing fear for the fictional character from the 1993 film Jurassic Park, but scientists believe they have discovered the first known incident of a mammal being eaten by a dinosaur.
However, the 120-million-year-old fossil is not a hominid, but an animal paw inside the thorax of a small, furry dinosaur known as Microraptor.
Paleontologists say their findings, published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, are “the first record of dinosaurs eating mammals.”
Dr David Hone of Queen Mary University of London, lead author of the study, said: ‘It is rare to find food samples inside dinosaurs, so each example is very important because it provides direct evidence of what they ate.
“While these mammals weren’t human ancestors at all, we can look back on some of our ancient relatives who served as food for hungry dinosaurs.
“This study paints a picture of an extraordinary moment in time — the first record of a dinosaur eating a mammal — even if it wasn’t nearly as scary as Jurassic Park.”
Microraptor lived in the ancient forests of what is now China between 125 million and 113 million years ago.
While they move upright, experts believe that some species may be capable of directional flight.
They are about the size of a crow or small cat and will move from tree to tree preying on small animals.
The specimen was first described more than 20 years ago in 2000, but researchers say the team had been unable to see the remains of any other animals inside the dinosaur.
Analysis showed that its prey was a mouse-sized land mammal and not a very good climber.
Previous studies have shown that other Microraptor fossils had non-mammalian food preserved in their stomachs, such as birds, lizards or fish.
