Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 3 hrs ago
Fossil bite marks point to giant crocodylians as top predators in ancient Colombia
Researchers found crocodylian bite marks on fossil bones from La Venta, in what is now Colombia.
The bones belonged to three kinds of large plant-eating mammals that lived about 12 million years ago.
The marks include deep punctures, cracks and crushed bone, evidence that the animals were bitten while their bones were fresh.
The strongest match was Purussaurus neivensis, a giant relative of modern caimans that may have grown to about 23 feet long.
Mammalian predators also lived in the area, but they were few, and the study suggests giant crocodylians were the leading hunters of large prey.
Researchers compared the marks with fossil teeth and estimated bite forces to identify the likely predators.
The findings add physical evidence that crocodylians played a major role in the ancient wetland food web.
Fossil bite marks suggest giant crocodylians were the leading predators of large land mammals in what is now Colombia about 12 million years ago.
Researchers examined four fossils from three types of large plant-eating mammals found at La Venta in Colombia’s Tatacoa Desert.
The bite marks included deep punctures, grooves, fractures and crushed bone, which the team compared with fossil teeth.
The strongest match was Purussaurus neivensis, a giant relative of modern caimans.
The study’s findings point to crocodylians as especially important hunters of large prey in the region.
- Who
- Researchers led by Oscar Wilson examined the fossils. The likely predators were giant crocodylians.
- What
- Fossil bite marks suggest crocodylians were leading predators of large mammals.
- When
- About 12 million years ago, during the Middle Miocene.
- Where
- La Venta in Colombia’s Tatacoa Desert.
- Why
- Bite marks on mammal bones matched the teeth of giant crocodylians, especially Purussaurus neivensis.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Rivers and wetlands in what is now Colombia supported large mammals and many kinds of crocodylians.
Earth.com published an account of research using fossil bite marks to assess which predators hunted large mammals.
- Fossil site
- La Venta, Colombia’s Tatacoa Desert
- Fossils examined
- Four fossils from three types of large plant-eating mammals
- Likely leading predator
- Purussaurus neivensis
- Purussaurus length
- May have reached about 23 feet
- Estimated mammal weights
- About 1,360 to 4,020 pounds
What people are saying
Our new study shows that crocodylians in particular were the region’s most important predators, especially when it came to hunting large prey.
There was so much prey available that mammalian predators couldn’t have eaten it all.