New study finds earliest evidence of big land predators hunting plant-eaters

A new study examining fossil evidence shows large land predators were already hunting big plant-eating animals more than 280 million years ago. University of Toronto Mississauga researchers Jordan M. Young, Tea Maho, and Robert Reisz studied bite marks on the skeletons of three young herbivores from the early Permian of Texas revealing feeding patterns from multiple predators and a glimpse into how animals hunted and interacted with each other.

“This discovery shows predator-prey hierarchies were formed earlier than previously expected,” said Professor Reisz, co-author of Earliest direct evidence of trophic interactions between terrestrial apex predators and large herbivores. “While these interactions are well known in the ‘Age of Reptiles’ there has been little information available in the Paleozoic Era, when terrestrial vertebrates first evolved into large apex predators and herbivores.”

Master’s student Young, lead author of the study published in the journal Scientific Reports, highlights how the size, shape, and texturing of the tooth markings reveals who the potential predators are during this time period.

“The puncturing, pitting, scoring and furrowing marks on the skeletons of these three young plant-eating animals are indicative of large predators found in this site and in nearby areas include varanopid (Varanops) and sphenacodontid (Dimetrodon) synapsids,” said Young.

He added scavengers and small arthropods also joined in on the “Paleozoic feast.”  The skeletons showed arthropod borings on areas where cartilaginous bone ends would be on the carcass.