New Discovery: Some Prehistoric Mammals May Have Hunted Dinosaurs for Dinner

An unusual discovery in China suggests that some early mammals likely hunted dinosaurs for dinner. According to the Associated Press, a fossil found in an area known as 'China's Pompeii' shows the skeleton of a badger-like creature intertwined with that of a beaked dinosaur. 'China's Pompeii' is a site where mud and lava from ancient volcanoes buried prehistoric creatures in their path. Steve Brusatte, a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland who was not involved in the research, said in an email to the Associated Press, 'This seems to be a moment of prehistoric hunting captured in a rock, like a freeze frame in a video.' The discovery, detailed in the scientific journal 'Scientific Reports,' shows two creatures that lived about 125 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. Scientific Reports is an open-access academic journal that covers various aspects of natural and physical sciences. Jordan Mallon, a paleobiologist at the Canadian Museum of Nature and author of the study, says that although this mammal is much smaller, researchers believe that when both were caught in the volcanic eruption, it was attacking the dinosaur. The fossil depicts a moment where this small mammal is sitting on the dinosaur, its claws gripping the reptile's jaw and a limb while its teeth sink into its chest. Mallon stated, 'I have never seen a fossil like this before.' Brusatte mentions that this fossil discovery changes the old narrative in our minds. He told the Associated Press, 'We have gotten used to imagining the age of dinosaurs as a time when dinosaurs ruled the earth and small mammals cowered in their shadows.' Mallon explains that the creatures visible in this fossil are a small carnivorous mammal the size of a domestic cat attacking a dinosaur the size of a medium dog with a parrot-like beak. However, Mallon adds that carnivorous dinosaurs likely hunted more mammals than mammals hunted them, but 'now we know that mammals were at least capable of confronting dinosaurs at certain times.'