Palaeontology

Evidence of dinosaur cannibalism discovered

By T.K. Randall
April 10, 2015 ·  2 comments

Skeleton of a Daspletosaurus at the Field Museum in Chicago. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 2.5 Wikipedia Carnivorous dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus rex were among some of the most fearsome meat-eaters ever to walk the face of the Earth - gigantic killing machines with an appetite that would put most of today's land-based predators to shame.

Now new research has revealed that one of these creatures, a relative of Tyrannosaurus called Daspletosaurus, which means "frightful lizard", may have feasted not only on the flesh of other dinosaurs but on members of its own species as well.

The discovery was made when the fossil skull of a juvenile Daspletosaurus unearthed in Canada was found to bear bite injuries consistent with being fed upon by another of its kin."This animal clearly had a tough life, suffering numerous injuries across the head including some that must have been quite nasty.," said Dr David Hone from Queen Mary University of London.

"The most likely candidate to have done this is another member of the same species, suggesting some serious fights between these animals during their lives."

Daspletosaurus lived 75 million years ago and would have both hunted and scavenged for food.

Source: Telegraph | Comments (2)

Tags: Dinosaur, Daspletosaurus