Teeth marks on the leg bone of a so-called 'terror bird' suggest it may have been killed by a caiman in a prehistoric battle 13 million years ago. The fossil, discovered in Colombia's Tatacoa Desert over 15 years ago, shows four deep tooth marks that researchers believe were inflicted by a large caiman.
Terror birds were flightless predators that could reach up to 3 metres tall, with powerful legs and vicious beaks. They were top predators in the Americas, but this evidence shows they could also fall prey to large caimans when approaching water bodies.
Professor Andrés Link of the University of the Andes in Colombia led the study, published in Biology Letters. Using 3D scans of the bite marks, scientists compared them with teeth of ancient predators and ruled out mammals, concluding that crocodiles or caimans were responsible.
The research team notes that it is possible the bird was already dead and the marks are from scavenging. However, Professor Link stated, 'There is no sign of healing in the bite marks... so if it wasn't already dead, it died in the attack.'
Similar tooth traces have been found on older terror bird fossils from Argentina, indicating such interactions were common. The fossil provides rare evidence of an encounter between two top predators from the Miocene epoch.
