Long Ago Small Mammals Hunted Dinosaurs

 

DISCOVERIES

The Small, the Mighty

Early mammals living in the age of the dinosaurs were smaller and couldn’t compete with the giant lizards.

But a new study showed that being small didn’t stop one cat-sized mammal from preying on a dinosaur three times its size, CBS News reported.

First discovered in northeastern China in 2012, scientists recently studied the fossilized remains of a mammal and a dinosaur from around 125 million years ago. The unique fossil shows the two creatures “locked in mortal combat,” with the mammal appearing as the aggressor.

Their findings identified the early furry animal as a Repenomamus robustus, which was one of the largest mammals living during the Cretaceous period. The dinosaur was a Psittacosaurus, an herbivore about the size of a large dog.

Paleontologists had previously suggested that R. robustus preyed on dinos after finding fossilized bones found in the mammal’s stomach.

Now, the study provides the first evidence showing actual predatory behavior by a mammal toward a dinosaur.

Co-author John Mallon told New Scientist that it also challenges the “traditional knowledge” that big dinosaurs devoured smaller mammals.

“But what’s so surprising about this fossil is that it suggests, occasionally at least, smaller mammals could take down a larger dinosaur,” he added.