![]() ![]() He recognized that two species of Tanystropheus lived in the same environment, one small species, about a meter and a half in length, likely feeding on soft-shelled animals like shrimp, and a much larger species of up to six meters long that fed on fish and squid. Spiekman had studied these reptiles as the main subject of his doctoral work at the Paleontological Museum of the University of Zurich, Switzerland, where the specimens are housed. "Nevertheless, there was no evidence of decapitation-or any other sort of attack targeting the neck-known from the abundant fossil record of long-necked marine reptiles until our present study on these two specimens of Tanystropheus." ![]() "Paleontologists speculated that these long necks formed an obvious weak spot for predation, as was already vividly depicted almost 200 years ago in a famous painting by Henry de la Beche from 1830," said Stephan Spiekman of the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart, Germany. The findings offer gruesome and exceedingly rare evidence for predator-prey interactions in the fossil record going back over 240 million years ago, the researchers say. But Tanystropheus's predators apparently also took advantage of the long neck for their own gain.Ĭareful examination of their fossilized bones now shows that the necks of two existing specimens representing different species with severed necks have clear bite marks on them, in one case right where the neck was broken. Consequently, these marine reptiles likely possessed stiffened necks and waited to ambush their prey. The species had unique necks composed of 13 extremely elongated vertebrae and strut-like ribs. Researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology on June 19 studied the unusual necks of two Triassic species of Tanystropheus, a type of reptile distantly related to crocodiles, birds, and dinosaurs. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |