Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)
A fossil discovery in China shows a complex prehistoric food chain from 125 million years ago.
The fossilised remains of Huadanosaurus sinensis – a newly identified compsognathid-like theropod dinosaur – were found in Liaoning province.
Scientists discovered two small mammals inside the dinosaur’s stomach. One was an eutherian, a distant relative of modern mammals.
The second was a gobiconodontid, a group that includes the Repenomamus – a mammal about the size of a badger. The eutherian in its stomach was swallowed whole, suggesting Huadanosaurus likely killed its prey with a powerful bite.
This has changed what scientists know about the animals. Earlier fossils showed Repenomamus ate vertebrates. This previous fossil finding and the new study suggest that dinosaurs and mammals in the region may have formed a food web in which they were both predator and prey to each other.
Answer: Scientists found the remains of two small mammals, suggesting there was a complicated food web
