Re: Velociraptor scavenged azhdarchid pterosaur

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@umd.edu>]

Making this the second case of a velociraptorine known to have bitten an
azdarchid:

http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/e95-077

On Sat, March 3, 2012 3:03 pm, Ben Creisler wrote:
> From: Ben Creisler
> bcreisler@gmail.com
>
> A new online paper:
>
> David Hone, Takanobu Tsuihiji, Mahito Watabe, Khishigjaw Tsogtbaatr (2012)
> Pterosaurs as a food source for small dromaeosaurs.
> Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (advance online
> publication)
> http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.02.021
> http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031018212000946?v=s5
>
> Stomach contents preserved in fossil specimens provide direct evidence
> for the diet of extinct animals. Such exceptional fossils remain rare
> for predatory non-avian dinosaurs and each can add significantly to
> our understanding of trophic interactions between various taxa. Here
> we present evidence for the dromaeosaurid theropod Velociraptor
> scavenging on the carcass of an azhdarchid pterosaur, with a long bone
> of the pterosaur being found as gut contents of the dinosaur. Despite
> previous inferences of dromaeosaurs as hyper-predators, scavenging
> appears to have been an important part of their ecology.
>


Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Email: tholtz@umd.edu   Phone: 301-405-4084
Office: Centreville 1216
Senior Lecturer, Vertebrate Paleontology
Dept. of Geology, University of Maryland
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/
Fax: 301-314-9661

Faculty Director, Science & Global Change Program, College Park Scholars
http://www.geol.umd.edu/sgc
Fax: 301-314-9843

Mailing Address:        Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
                        Department of Geology
                        Building 237, Room 1117
                        University of Maryland
                        College Park, MD 20742 USA