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The Sun
5 days ago
- Science
- The Sun
Lethal 15-FOOT prehistoric croc ‘chomped' gigantic ‘terror bird' taller than a human in shock attack 12million years ago
FOSSILISED bite marks on the leg of an ancient "terror bird" have been traced back to a massive crocodile that roamed Earth 12million years ago, a new study suggests. A "terror bird" - also known as Phorusrhacids - was an apex predator that would have towered over humans at over 9ft tall. 2 Evidence of the tussle was unearthed at the La Venta fossil site in Colombia - one of the most fossil-rich areas in South America. After analysing the fossilised remains, a team of archaeologists concluded that a 15-feet-long caiman was likely responsible for the marks. In the journal Biology Letters, the team suggested that La Venta's largest ancient caiman species, Purussaurus neivensis, was behind the bite. Although it seems like the monster responsible would not yet have been fully grown. Adult specimens of the Purussaurus neivensis could grow up to a whopping 33 feet long. While the flightless "terror birds" had little to fear on land, the new research suggests they were at risk around water. "We have learned that terror birds could also be preyed [upon] and that even being an apex predator has risks," study lead author Andrés Link, a paleontologist and biologist at the University of the Andes in Colombia, told Live Science in an email. But the scene archaeologists have painted requires some imagination. It's always possible that the terror bird simply died near a body of water and became food for a nearby caiman. Without evidence of a caiman with a belly full of "terror bird", the findings represent an anecdotal account of an aquatic apex predator feasting on a land apex predator during the middle of the Miocene epoch some 23 million to 5 million years ago. The terror bird fossil was first unveiled in a study published last year, where researchers suspected a crocodilian creature killed the bird. However, the study's authors had not yet published an analysis of the four tooth marks found on the bone. For the most recent study, the researchers created detailed 3D images of the fossil to get a closer look at the bite mark. The indentations showed no signs of healing - suggesting the bird did not live long after, or was already dead. The size and shape of the marks were also consistent with those delivered by a caiman that was around 15.1 to 15.8 feet (4.6 to 4.8 m) long, according to the study. "In my opinion this study contributes to understanding the diet of Purussaurus, the landscape of fear near the water bodies [at] La Venta during the middle Miocene and the complex ecological interactions in the protoAmazonian ecosystems of [tropical] South America," said Link.
The Independent
5 days ago
- Science
- The Independent
Teeth marks on fossil show ‘terror bird' may have been killed in vicious battle with caiman 13 million years ago
Teeth marks seen on the leg bone of a so-called 'terror bird', which were predators 13 million years ago, suggest it may have been killed by an even bigger reptile. The enormous, flightless birds were found in the Americas and could reach up to 3 metres tall. They had powerful legs and vicious beaks which could tear the flesh of its prey. In a fossilised leg bone of one of the huge birds, four deep teeth marks have been discovered, prompting professor Andrés Link of the University of the Andes in Colombia to search for what might have been the bird's killer. Researchers now believe it was a caiman. 'Terror birds were undoubtedly at the top of the food chain,' says Prof Link in the study published by journal Biology Letters. 'But this evidence shows us that they could also fall as prey of large caimans when approaching large water bodies. Maybe they went there to look for prey or [were] moving across this complex ecosystem.' Using 3D scan of the bites, scientists were also able to reconstruct the possible battle between the terror bird and another reptile - a battle the bird appears to have lost. To discover which animal might have killed the terror bird, scientists created a digital model of the tooth marks by scanning the surface of the fossil, which they then compared with the teeth of ancient predators from the region. 'There's no evidence of gnawing and the marks are rounded and in [a] line, more similar to those inflicted by crocodiles and caimans,' professor Link said, with the scientist ruling that it was unlikely to be a mammal behind the attack. The bones, which were first found more than 15 years ago in Colombia's Tatacoa Desert, provide rare evidence of an interaction between two of the top predators on the continent 13 million years ago. But the research team notes that they can't rule out the possibility that the bird was already dead at the time it was apprehended by the caiman, and that the tooth marks could be evidence of scavenging by the reptile. "There is no sign of healing in the bite marks on the bone," explained professor Link. "So if it wasn't already dead, it died in the attack. That was the last day that bird was on this planet - then a piece of its leg bone was found 13 million years later." These types of tooth traces are 'more common than people think', said Carolina Acosta Hospitaleche of the National University of La Plata in Argentina. Last year, she discovered tooth marks on a smaller and older terror bird fossil, around 43 million years old, from Argentina.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Teeth marks suggest 'terror bird' was killed by reptile 13 million years ago
Teeth marks made on the leg bone of a large avian reptile known as a terror bird 13 million years ago suggest an even bigger predator may have killed it, scientists say. Terror birds were top predators - they could be taller than a human and had powerful legs and hooked, flesh-ripping beaks. Palaeontologists in Colombia matched teeth marks on the fossilised leg bone of one of these fearsome birds to a caiman, or a crocodile-like reptile. 3D digital scans of the bites allowed the scientists to reconstruct what they believe was a "battle to the death" that the terror bird did not survive. The new study, published in the journal Biology Letters, compared the size and shape of the teeth marks to the skulls and teeth of crocodile-like predators in museum collections. It provides rare evidence, the researchers say, of an interaction between two extinct top predators at the time. The leg bone the scientists studied was first unearthed more than 15 years ago in Colombia's Tatacoa Desert. When the bird lived in the swamps of that area 13 million years ago, it would have been about 2.5m tall and would have used its legs and beak to hold down and rip at its prey. What the scientists are not able to prove conclusively is whether this particular, unfortunate terror bird was killed in the attack, or if the caiman scavenged its remains. "There is no sign of healing in the bite marks on the bone," explained lead researcher Andres Link from the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. "So if it wasn't already dead, it died in the attack. That was the last day that bird was on this planet - then a piece of its leg bone was found 13 million years later." The Tatacoa Desert is home to rich deposits of fossils from an epoch known as the Middle Miocene. At that time, it was a humid swamp, where river sediments trapped and fossilised the bones of dead animals, resulting in the preserved remains found there today. This particular bone was first discovered about 15 years ago by local fossil collector César Augusto Perdomo. The Colombian scientists worked closely with Mr Perdomo, studying and cataloging fossils that he has gathered in his museum. It was when scientists were working in the museum that they realised that this fist-sized piece of leg bone came from a terror bird. That was an exciting discovery - terror bird fossils are rare. But Dr Link and his colleagues were also fascinated by the puncture marks in the bone, which had clearly been made by the teeth of another powerful predator. This new analysis of the marks revealed that they most closely match an extinct caiman species called Purussaurus neivensis, a crocodilian that would have been up to five metres long. The researchers say it would have ambushed its prey from the water's edge, much like crocodiles and caimans do today. "I would imagine it was waiting for prey to to be nearby," said Dr Link. If this was indeed a battle between two apex predators, Dr Link says that provides insight into an ancient ecosystem. It reveals that ferocious terror birds were much more vulnerable to predators than previously thought. "Every piece of a body helps us to understand so much about life on the planet in the past," Dr Link told BBC News. "That's something that amazes me - how one tiny bone can complete the story."
BBC News
6 days ago
- Science
- BBC News
Teeth marks suggest 'terror bird' was killed by reptile 13 million years ago
Teeth marks made on the leg bone of a large avian reptile known as a terror bird 13 million years ago suggest an even bigger predator may have killed it, scientists birds were top predators - they could be taller than a human and had powerful legs and hooked, flesh-ripping beaks. Palaeontologists in Colombia matched teeth marks on the fossilised leg bone of one of these fearsome birds to a caiman, or a crocodile-like reptile. 3D digital scans of the bites allowed the scientists to reconstruct what they believe was a "battle to the death" that the terror bird did not survive. The new study, published in the journal Biology Letters, compared the size and shape of the teeth marks to the skulls and teeth of crocodile-like predators in museum provides rare evidence, the researchers say, of an interaction between two extinct top predators at the leg bone the scientists studied was first unearthed more than 15 years ago in Colombia's Tatacoa Desert. When the bird lived in the swamps of that area 13 million years ago, it would have been about 2.5m tall and would have used its legs and beak to hold down and rip at its prey. What the scientists are not able to prove conclusively is whether this particular, unfortunate terror bird was killed in the attack, or if the caiman scavenged its remains. "There is no sign of healing in the bite marks on the bone," explained lead researcher Andres Link from the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. "So if it wasn't already dead, it died in the attack. That was the last day that bird was on this planet - then a piece of its leg bone was found 13 million years later." The Tatacoa Desert is home to rich deposits of fossils from an epoch known as the Middle Miocene. At that time, it was a humid swamp, where river sediments trapped and fossilised the bones of dead animals, resulting in the preserved remains found there today. This particular bone was first discovered about 15 years ago by local fossil collector César Augusto Colombian scientists worked closely with Mr Perdomo, studying and cataloging fossils that he has gathered in his museum. It was when scientists were working in the museum that they realised that this fist-sized piece of leg bone came from a terror bird. That was an exciting discovery - terror bird fossils are rare. But Dr Link and his colleagues were also fascinated by the puncture marks in the bone, which had clearly been made by the teeth of another powerful predator. This new analysis of the marks revealed that they most closely match an extinct caiman species called Purussaurus neivensis, a crocodilian that would have been up to five metres long. The researchers say it would have ambushed its prey from the water's edge, much like crocodiles and caimans do today. "I would imagine it was waiting for prey to to be nearby," said Dr Link. If this was indeed a battle between two apex predators, Dr Link says that provides insight into an ancient ecosystem. It reveals that ferocious terror birds were much more vulnerable to predators than previously thought. "Every piece of a body helps us to understand so much about life on the planet in the past," Dr Link told BBC News. "That's something that amazes me - how one tiny bone can complete the story."
