Dr. Caleb Brown from the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology is the lead author of a recently published paper revealing an ancient crocodilian bite.
The fossilised neck bone of a flying reptile unearthed in Canada shows tell-tale signs of being bitten by a crocodile-like creature 76 million years ago, according to a new study published Thursday, January 23 in the Journal of Palaeontology.
The juvenile pterosaur vertebra, discovered in Dinosaur Provincial Park, approximately 170 kilometres southeast of Drumheller, bears a circular four-millimetre-wide puncture mark from a crocodilian tooth. Researchers from the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, the University of Reading (UK) and the University of New England (Australia) say this rare evidence provides insight into predator-prey dynamics in the region during the Cretaceous Period.
The discovery was made during an international field course that took place in July 2023, led by Dr. Brian Pickles from the University of Reading.
Dr. Caleb Brown from the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology is the lead author of the paper.
“Pterosaur bones are very delicate - so finding fossils where another animal has clearly taken a bite is exceptionally uncommon. This specimen being a juvenile makes it even more rare,” said Brown.
Dinosaur Provincial Park has produced some of the most important dinosaur fossil discoveries ever made.
The punctured vertebra belongs to a young Azhdarchid pterosaur (Cryodrakon boreas), with an estimated wingspan of two metres. Adults of this species would have been as tall as a giraffe with a wingspan in the region of 10 metres.
The researchers used micro-CT scans and comparisons with other pterosaur bones to confirm the puncture is not a result of damage during fossilisation or excavation, but an actual bite.
Dr. Brian Pickles from the University of Reading and co-author of the paper said, “Bite traces help to document species interactions from this period. We can’t say if the pterosaur was alive or dead when it was bitten but the specimen shows that crocodilians occasionally preyed on, or scavenged, juvenile pterosaurs in prehistoric Alberta over 70 million years ago.”
The paper also shows that this new bone documents the first evidence in North America of ancient crocodilians opportunistically feeding on these giant prehistoric flying reptiles.
Other examples of Azhdarchid bones with possible crocodilian bites have previously been found in Romania.

The former Reptile World building, located at 95 3 Avenue East in downtown Drumheller, has been vacant for nearly a decade after the facility closed in February 2015, and soon a new local business will call the location home.
Local Drumheller company Reality Bytes Incorporated has purchased the building and have made extensive renovations to the interior in order to move their existing operations and plan for expansion.
“We love our current location downtown (at 155 3 Avenue W) but we have simply run out of space,” shares John Shoff, Reality Bytes’ Chief Executive Officer. “We currently have 21 staff, and there’s just not enough room for us all, and our equipment, inventory, et cetera."
He shares their current location operates both Reality Bytes and Aerial Internet Solutions, which is also run by Reality Bytes but provides different services. As both businesses have grown, so have the space constraints felt within their current location.
“When we started looking for a larger space, our goal was to stay in the downtown core, this was quite important to us as a company,” Mr. Shoff says. “The building at 95 3 Ave (the former Reptile World) was a location we felt would work well for our needs, with room to grow and expand.”
Mr. Shoff notes, while the building is structurally sound it does require extensive renovations and upgrades internally, and the interior of the building will undergo full renovations.
The goal is to develop several spaces, each being between 1,500 and 2,000 square feet, which can be used for office or retail space along the north side of the building closest to 3 Avenue.
The remaining space will be used by Reality Bytes and Aerial Internet Solutions which will allow them to house not only a data centre and meeting rooms, but also retail and office space with warehouse space.
“We’re very excited for this development, not just for our company, but also for what it will do for the future of downtown Drumheller,” Mr. Shoff says.
The Mail reached out to Town of Drumheller for comment but did not hear back by press time.