According to a new publication in the Journal of Paleontology, a juvenile pterosaur vertebrae fossil, commonly known as a pterodactyl, has been found to have bite marks that suggest “the most likely candidate is a crocodilian.” While the bite most likely came from a crocodilian, whether this was because of hunting or scavenging behaviour is unknown. Moreover, the fossil was uncovered in Dinosaur Park Formation, Alberta, Canada, and suggests “pterosaurs can be counted as a rare, but not surprising, component of at least some Cretaceous crocodilian diets.
“Pterosaurs, a highly diverse and cosmopolitan clade of flying archosaurs, are nevertheless frequently underrepresented in many Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystems,” reads the journal publication. “Because of the exceptional abundance of bones in Dinosaur Provincial Park, a significant number of interactions relating to feeding behavior and possible agonistic encounters have been reported.”
So, this newly uncovered Canadian fossil from Alberta points to new information in the study of cretaceous period feeding habits.
“We discuss the likely origin of the bite mark and its maker as crocodilian, which evidences a novel trophic interaction and provides new paleoecological information on the role of azhdarchid pterosaurs in Late Cretaceous food webs,” it reads.
“The specimen is preserved in three dimensions, with the only discernible crushing or compaction restricted to the right dorsal aspect near the midpoint, as well as the perforative bite mark.”
Moreover, attributes of the bite mark in fossil TMP 2023.012.0237 suggest it was made by a crocodilian.
“The puncture mark in TMP 2023.012.0237 is consistent with the circular punctures made by modern crocodilians as well as unequivocal feeding traces of extinct crocodylomorphs,” reads the article from the Journal of Archaeology.
“Based on the above indicators, we therefore consider a crocodilian to be the most likely candidate for the bite mark in TMP 2023.012.0237, although we cannot exclude Champsosaurus or a Stagodonid mammal.”
But, there was another fossil at the dig site that had a broken tooth from a Saurornitholestes, a dinosaur from the subfamily Velociraptorinae with a velociraptor-like sickle claw on its foot.
“Feeding interactions involving bitten or ingested azhdarchid pterosaurs have been documented previously,” the report states.
“In addition to TMP 2023.012.0237 described here, the Dinosaur Park Formation has also yielded an azhdarchid tibia with a broken tooth of the velociraptorine Saurornitholestes Sues still embedded within the shaft and multiple tooth traces preserved on the bone surface.”
However, the publication’s authors acknowledge there are limited interpretations to be made about the fossil.
“Ecological interpretations that can be made on a single bite mark are obviously limited,” the report reads.
“Although lack of healing or remodeled bone indicates that the bite was not a failed predation attempt, it is also unclear whether the mark is a result of a successful predation event (perimortem) or scavenging (postmortem). It is also worth noting that modern species of crocodilians are both active predators and opportunistic scavengers, with carrion making up an important component of their diets.”
