WASHINGTON: Scientists have found evidence of cannibalism in a particularly large and aggressive dinosaur species that once inhabited North America, giving credence to the theory that at least some prehistoric beasts had a taste for their own kind. After closely analyzing the fossilized skull of a Daspletosaurus discovered in Canada in 1994, researchers found that the dinosaur had suffered injuries not just during combat with other dinosaurs but also postmortem, indicating that it became someone else’s dinner in death, according to a study published Thursday in the journal PeerJ.
“This animal clearly had a tough life suffering numerous injuries across the head, including some that must have been quite nasty,” David Hone, a lecturer in ecology at Queen Mary University of London, which led the study, said in a statement. Large, circular puncture marks in its skull indicated that a very large predator had taken a bite out of the Daspletosaurus. “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,” said Hone.
