Repenomamus – the mammal that ate dinosaurs

Not all prehistoric mammals were vulnerable to dinosaurs. A mammal species discovered in China fed on dinosaurs in Early Cretaceous forests. It was named Repenomamus giganticus.

Repenomamus illustration
Repenomamus illustration – artist: Nobu Tamura, Wikipedia

Repenomamus was a large mammal for the Cretaceous Period, approximately 145.5–65.5 million years ago. While most mammals of that time were small, nocturnal insectivores,  Repenomamus measured 1 metre in length and had a large body, short legs, powerful jaws and sharp teeth. The discovered fossils also suggest that it was either a marsupial or a monotreme, an egg-laying mammal such as the platypus or echidna.

Repenomamus size comparison
Sizes of the two Repenomamus species compared with a 1.8-metre-tall human – www.prehistoric-wildlife.com

The teeth and skull anatomy of the first fossils discovered in China suggested that Repenomamus was carnivorous. Direct evidence came in 2000 with the discovery of a Repenomamus giganticus skeleton containing the remains of a young Psittacosaurusin its stomach. The partially articulated remains of the young Psittacosaurus suggest that it had been consumed by Repenomamus. Although it is impossible to determine whether the young dinosaur was hunted or scavenged by Repenomamus, this is the first evidence that, while dinosaurs ate mammals, some mammals also ate dinosaurs.

Repenomamus skeleton
Repenomamus skeleton discovered in China. Panel “b” shows the remains of the young Psittacosaurus – American Museum of Natural History
Repenomamus illustration
Repenomamus illustration – artist: Julius T. Csotonyi
Repenomamus giganticus skull
Repenomamus giganticus skull at the Hong Kong Science Museum – Wikipedia

Sources: Nature

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