46 minutes agoShareSaveVictoria GillScience correspondent, BBC NewsShareSaveAndres LinkThis new analysis of the marks revealed that they most closely match an extinct caiman species called Purussaurus neivensis, a crocodilian that would have been up to five metres long. The researchers say it would have ambushed its prey from the water’s edge, much like crocodiles and caimans do today. “I would imagine it was waiting for prey to to be nearby,” said Dr Link. If this was indeed a battle between two apex predators, Dr Link says that provides insight into an ancient ecosystem. It reveals that ferocious terror birds were much more vulnerable to predators than previously thought. “Every piece of a body helps us to understand so much about life on the planet in the past,” Dr Link told BBC News. “That’s something that amazes me – how one tiny bone can complete the story.”
