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Mystery over teeth marks on 'terror bird' killed by reptile 13 million years ago

New analysis of bite marks on the fossilised leg bone of the prehistoric terror bird revealed they most closely match an extinct crocodile-like creature that would have been more than 16ft long

[Boffins believe they have uncovered evidence of a fight between a terror bird and even bigger beast]

Boffins believe they have uncovered evidence of a fight between a terror bird and even bigger beast(Image: Link et al/Biology Letters)

The mangled leg of a prehistoric predator suggests it may have been killed by an even bigger beast 13 million years ago, boffins believe.

Terror birds a flightless, flesh-eating avian reptile from the Phorusrhacid family could reach up to 10 feet tall and were among the largest apex predators in South America.

They could be taller than a human and had powerful legs, which it used to hold down prey while it pecked at it with hooked, flesh-ripping beaks. But researchers in Colombia have discovered one thought to have been killed in a battle to the death with a larger predator.

[Fossil collector Csar Augusto Perdomo discovered the bone 15 years ago]

Fossil collector Csar Augusto Perdomo discovered the bone 15 years ago(Image: Andres Link)

Palaeontologists studied a fossilised leg bone of the fearsome birds first unearthed more than 15 years ago in Colombia's Tatacoa Desert by collector Csar Augusto Perdomo matched teeth marks on it to a caiman, or a crocodile-like reptile. The bird lived in the swamps of that area 13 million years ago, which is now home to rich fossil deposits.

They used 3D digital scans of the bites to reconstruct what they believe was a "battle to the death" that the terror bird did not survive.

Scientists say it provides rare evidence of an interaction between two extinct top predators at the time and reveals that ferocious terror birds were more vulnerable to predators than previously thought.

[Researchers compared the bite marks with the teeth of crocodile-like predator]

Researchers compared the bite marks with the teeth of a crocodile-like predator(Image: Link et al/Biology Letters)

The new study, published in the journal Biology Letters, found teeth marks similar in size and shape to an extinct caiman species called Purussaurus neivensis, a crocodilian that would have been over 16ft long. The marks on the leg bone line up with the crocodilian's teeth.

Researchers believe it would have ambushed its prey from the water's edge, similar to how crocodiles and caimans do today. But they were not able to prove conclusively whether the terror bird was killed in the attack or if the caiman scavenged its remains.

Lead researcher Andres Link, from the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogot, told the BBC: "I would imagine it was waiting for prey to be nearby. Every piece of a body helps us to understand so much about life on the planet in the past. That's something that amazes me - how one tiny bone can complete the story."

[Bite marks visible on the leg bone]

Bite marks visible on the leg bone(Image: Andres Link)

"So if it wasn't already dead, it died in the attack. That was the last day that bird was on this planet - then a piece of its leg bone was found 13 million years later."

The Tatacoa Desert is home to rich deposits of fossils from an epoch known as the Middle Miocene.

At that time, it was a humid swamp, where river sediments trapped and fossilised the bones of dead animals, resulting in the preserved remains found there today.

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