Researchers examining a nearly complete skeleton of a 240-million-year-old "megapredator" have found another large reptile in its stomach. According to a study published in the scientific journal iScience, the 15-feet long ichthyosaur known as Guizhouichthyosaurus had swallowed a nearly 12-foot long thalattosaurs. The ichthyosaur likely died soon after it devoured its prey. "Air-breathing marine predators have been essential components of the marine ecosystem since the Triassic," the researchers wrote in the study's summary. The fossils of a 180-million-year-old ichthyosaur, which also contained evidence of blubber and skin, were discovered in December 2018.

Source: Fox News August 23, 2020 14:03 UTC