The Fossilized Fight: Dinosaur vs. Mammal

Since modern science began studying dinosaurs the common wisdom has always been that the mammals that coexisted with dinosaurs lived on the periphery of the global ecosystem since they only spent their days scavenging for food and hiding from the much larger dinosaurs dominated the world. However, in 2012 a discovery was made that at least partly challenged this notion. The discovery is a once in a lifetime fossil find of a mammal named Repenomamus robustus attacking a dinosaur named Psittacosaurus and was found in northeastern China at a location that has been nicknamed the “Chinese Pompeii” due to the massive amount of dinosaurs found there that have been preserved by volcanic activity. Not only is it incredibly rare to find fossilized skeletons that are so complete, but it is even more rare to find a fossil of an animal attacking another animal. The completeness of the skeletons and the capturing of the moment of predation on the part of the mammal is due in large part to a volcano that erupted soon after the mammal attacked the dinosaur. The archaeologists who worked on the fossil quickly ruled out scavenger scenarios by arguing that the mammal’s position relative to the dinosaur was consistent with that of a predator having attacked and killed its prey. They also ruled out the possibility that the volcanic sediment had flung the two animals together into their present fossilized position as improbable. All of this goes to show that mammals likely preyed upon dinosaurs that were several times their size as the mammal in the fossil was only the size of a house cat while the dinosaur was the size of a large dog. This size difference between predator and prey is not at all out of the ordinary as present day predators such as weasels and wolverines have been observed preying upon animals many times their size and weight. Unfortunately, China has a reputation in archaeological circles for forging fossils for profit. In response to these concerns tests have been done on the interior of the fossil at the point where the mammal bit into the ribs of the dinosaur and it was found to be authentic. These studies have largely assuaged the concerns of researchers both inside and outside of China as they all have concluded that the interior region of the fossil that was scrutinized would have been improbably difficult to fake.
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[@SachinPal-gq4yo]

Nice video ❤❤😊

[@danserpourlavie7649]

Love your channel! It’s both educational and fun to watch! Thank you for spreading good vibes! 👍😍😄

[@WorldChronicles1]

You are welcome!

[@dunringill1747]

Great summary video. I see interesting content on your channel as well. Liked, Subscribed, and I hit the Notifications Bell.

[@WorldChronicles1]

Thanks for subscribing!

[@Nom_AnorVSJedi]

Amazing, not all mammals lived in fear of the Dinos.

[@WorldChronicles1]

Yea I was surprised too while researching this topic. I’m also beginning to wonder if a very large pack of Repenomamus robustus would have even able to take down a much bigger dinosaur like a Stegosaurus. I guess the teeth and claws of the mammals would not have even made it into the blood vessels of the Stegosaurus because maybe the much larger dinosaurs had really thick skin

[@andychap6283]

Love this content, always trust this channel to cover obscure interesting topics

[@krookedteethfilming]

Awesome channel so concise thanks dude!!!

[@WorldChronicles1]

You’re welcome!

[@rebecar.9834]

I really liked this one! Super interesting, can’t wait to see the next video! ❤