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The short version

  • The fossil shows an ichthyosaur with bite marks from a pliosaur and stomach contents containing pterosaur bones.
  • Researchers identified the predator as Kronosaurus queenslandicus, an apex marine reptile of the Early Cretaceous period.
  • The find occurred at a fossicking site in outback Queensland, which was once covered by the shallow Eromanga Sea.

Scientists have analyzed a rare fossil from Queensland, Australia, that captures a complex predation event frozen in time. The specimen reveals an ichthyosaur, a marine reptile resembling a dolphin, that had consumed a flying pterosaur shortly before being attacked by a larger predator. Lead author Matt White described the find as a marine crime scene, noting that the evidence points to a three-tier food chain interaction. The ichthyosaur’s skeleton displays severe injuries, including split vertebrae and large bite marks consistent with the crushing teeth of a pliosaur.

The fossil was initially discovered in 2019 by recreational hunters at a designated fossicking site near Richmond. Museum curator Kevin Petersen later recovered additional bones, identifying the ichthyosaur as Platypterygius australis, which would have measured between 19 and 23 feet in length. Three-dimensional imaging of spherical masses near the skull revealed remnants of fish, cephalopods, and pterosaur bones within the stomach contents. Researchers suggest the ichthyosaur may have snatched the flying reptile from the air while hunting for fish, only to be ambushed by the pliosaur.

News Journal

The attacking predator is identified as Kronosaurus queenslandicus, an apex species often compared to the T. rex of the ocean. During the Early Cretaceous period, roughly 100 million years ago, this region was submerged under the Eromanga Sea, a rich marine environment teeming with diverse life. After the pliosaur attack, the mangled carcass likely drifted to the seafloor and was entombed in mud, preserving the evidence for millennia. The discovery, published in Gondwana Research, deepens understanding of prehistoric marine ecosystems and predator behaviors.

Sources behind this briefing

Go to the original reporting

  • Smithsonian Magazine↗Rare Fossil Reveals a Three-Tier Food Chain Frozen in Time: a Pterosaur Eaten by an Ichthyosaur Eaten by a Pliosaur