Surprisingly, the trace fossil preserved the remains of an entirely new pterosaur species that was consumed and then regurgitated indigestibly; the presence of the pterosaur remains within this regurgitalite provides rare direct evidence of a predator-prey interaction in the Cretaceous ecosystem
An artistic reconstruction of the pterosaur with a spinosaurid in the background that likely produced the regurgitalite. PIC COURTESY/Julio Lacerda
Paleontologists have identified a new species of flying reptile, named Bakiribu waridza. The most compelling detail of the discovery is the origin of the fossil: it was found in a regurgitalite, or fossilized puke, left by an unknown predator. Surprisingly, the trace fossil preserved the remains of an entirely new pterosaur species that was consumed and then regurgitated indigestibly.
The fossilised specimen. PIC COURTESY/Scientific Reports
The presence of the pterosaur remains within this regurgitalite provides rare direct evidence of a predator-prey interaction in the Cretaceous ecosystem. Pterosaurs were an extinct group of flying reptiles that soared through the skies for the majority of the Mesozoic Era (about 228 to 66 million years ago). They were a diverse clade, distinct from dinosaurs, that varied widely in size and lifestyle. Bakiribu waridza name means “comb mouth” in the language of the Indigenous Kariri people of the area.
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