Overview
- A study published this week in Gondwana Research and high‑resolution synchrotron CT scans confirm a pterosaur was preserved inside the stomach of an ichthyosaur that itself shows bite damage from a giant pliosaur, Kronosaurus.
- The ichthyosaur measures about 6–7 metres long and contains nodules that CT scans revealed hold fish, squid‑like cephalopods and fragments of a pterosaur jaw.
- Researchers attribute the large crushing bite marks and missing chunks of the ichthyosaur to Kronosaurus queenslandicus, an apex pliosaur that could reach roughly 14 metres and had a powerful bite.
- The bones were first found by hobbyists in 2019 near Richmond, Queensland, then excavated and prepared by museum staff and volunteers over hundreds of hours before being scanned and studied.
- Palaeontologists say the find is one of the clearest direct records of a three‑tier trophic interaction and will draw further scientific study of Eromanga Sea ecosystems and predator behavior.