Perfectly Preserved Midnight Snack

Scientists found something truly odd. It was the year 2010 and a team of paleontologists were searching for dinosaur bones. Paleontology, for the record, is a weird subspecialty that's somewhere between biology and geology. It's not the same as archaeology, which includes the study of modern humans. However, archaeologists also conduct digs and study fossils. Paleontology, specifically, is the study of life that existed prior to the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 12,000 years ago). In fact, paleontologists have made so many discoveries that the increase in knowledge has caused specialized sub-divisions of an already specialized study. Now there are paleontologists who study different types of fossils while others study ecology and environmental history.

So, it's not so odd that paleontologists were exploring Australia, which currently has species that no other places have, so why wouldn't the same be true about its fossils? It turns out that assumption was correct. Apparently, about 100 million years ago, an Australian crocodile was hungry and died shortly after. This crocodile was found, and in its stomach were the preserved remains of a dinosaur. It's a first for the world - this is the first time a crocodile has been discovered with remains in its stomach. The species of crocodile was new and named Confractosuchus sauroktonos, which means "broken dinosaur killer" named for the snack found in its stomach and likely also reflective of the condition it was found in. The crocodile's fossil was not in as good of condition as it's last meal: much of the pelvic region and tail were missing.

The discovery of the Confractosuchus sauroktonos was announced earlier this year in February by the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum. Confractosuchus sauroktonos seems to have been a freshwater crocodile estimated to have measured more than eight feet in length (remember the state in which it was found) and may have grown to be much longer had it survived longer. What was found in its digestive tract? Some sort of small plant-eating dinosaur in the ornithopod family. Like modern crocodiles, it is suspected that Confractosuchus sauroktonos were not picky in what they ate - as long as it was some sort of meat, they were good to go.

What is the significance of this find? It's the first prehistoric crocodile of its kind found in Australia, it's the first crocodile with evidence that it had consumed a dinosaur, and it was the first time that this type of dinosaur had been found in Australia. A triple find that probably is not likely to be found again! The discovery is on display at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum, in case you were thinking of taking a dinosaur themed Christmas trip. The more you know!

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