From scattered bones and teeth, scientists studying fossils extrapolate entire long-dead creatures, and even relationships between different species.
This could be the case with a newly described fossil of a badger-like mammal and a Labrador retriever-sized dinosaur, locked in what appears to be an eternal brawl.
But the unlikely fossil depicts combat between a mammal called Repenomamus robustus and a bipedal, plant-eating relative of Triceratops called Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis.
Size-wise, the dinosaur had an advantage, but Repenomamus, preserved with its teeth clamped into Psittacosaurus’s rib cage, appears to have punched above its weight.
The dinosaur’s bones don’t show evidence of being gnawed on by scavengers, indicating that the Repenomamus encounter happened when the Psittacosaurus was still alive.
Locations:
what’s, China