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Tyrannosaur’s Skull Depicts Battles And Cannibalism

We all know how carnivorous dinosaurs lived in the wilderness, hunting the weaker and smaller animals, but a recent discovery suggests cannibalism amongst a particular species of Tyrannosaur– the Daspletosaurus, as researchers examining the dinosaur’s skull found indication of battles between members of the same species.

The skull of the Dapletosaurus showed that it suffered many injuries during life, and at least one of them made by the member of the same species, according to The Telegraph. Then after the creature died, it was partly eaten by another Daspletosaurus. The dinosaur in question, from Alberta, Canada, was not fully grown and was teenager equivalent to human years.

[quote text_size=”small” author=”– Dr. David Hone” author_title=”Lead scientist at Queen Mary University of London”]

This animal clearly had a tough life, suffering numerous injuries across the head including some that must have been quite nasty. The most likely candidate to have done this is another member of the same species, suggesting some serious fights between these animals during their lives.

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Daspletosaurus was a large animal that lived in Canada and was only a bit smaller than its considerably more well known cousin, the Tyrannosaurus. It lived similar to the Tyrannosaurs as it hunted and scavenged, but in this case, it was the prey, not the hunter.

Researchers found many injury indicators on the skull which occurred during its lifetime, but not all of them could be attributed to bites. However, scientist found circular tooth shaped holes suggesting that the injury was made by another predator, probably Tyrannosaurus or even full grown Daspletosaurus.

While it has long been known that large carnivorous dinosaurs battled in combat and even had cannibalistic tendencies, this study provides unique evidence of both pre- and post-mortem injuries to a single individual, according to Nature World News.

A lot can be learned from the thorough research of animal fossils. This year, in January, scientists discovered a ‘dragon’ dinosaur with a 25 foot long neck in China. More on this story here.

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