“I Noticed a Buried Bone in the Ground”
Remarkably well-preserved, the reptile’s “near-complete cranium” and “frightening fangs” have been analyzed using 3D laser scanning services and X-rays.
One of the oldest living creatures was discovered by scientists to have a young dinosaur in its stomach.
Experts have dubbed it the Confractosuchus Sauroktonos, which translates as “broken crocodile dinosaur killer,” because it was discovered with the prehistoric dinosaur baby in its stomach.
It is estimated that the massive crocodile grew to approximately 2.5m (6-8ft) in length and died in a flood, according to research for Gondwana Research.
The reptile is believed to have been preserved to a 35% degree, with a “near-complete head” and its dreadful fangs still visible.
Researchers used 3D scanning services and X-rays to get a better look at it in greater detail.
In an interview with Indy100, Joseph Bevitt, a co-author of the paper, stated: “I noticed a buried bone in the ground that looked like a chicken bone with a hook on it during the initial scan in 2015 and immediately assumed it was a dinosaur.
“Because it was and continues to be completely encased in rock, it had never been seen before by human eyes.”
“An enormous rock was found to contain the remnants of the extinct creature. Concretions are frequently formed when organic debris, such as a crocodile, descends to the bottom of a river’s bottom.”
According to their theories, the bacteria in the mud surrounding the creature caused the mud to solidify, thus preserving the creature.
Researchers discovered “bones of a small chicken-sized juvenile dinosaur in the intestines” of one boulder while scanning; the species, however, has not yet been formally recognized.
At first glance, Dr. Bevitt saw what appeared to be an elongated, hook-like bone embedded in the ground, and immediately assumed it was from a prehistoric creature.
That information couldn’t have been obtained without the use of 3D laser scanning from the Imaging and Medical Beamline (Ansto), he said to Australian Nuclear Science and Technology (Ansto).
The rock samples had to be decreased in size so that X-rays could penetrate them and provide high-quality scanning.
However, the results of the team’s investigation astounded them all and provided them with valuable insight into what the reptile had eaten for its last meal.
At first glance, this was remarkable enough, but then the scientists discovered that the contents of the croc’s stomach contained a little dinosaur.
