<p><strong>A prehistoric snake is poised to make a meal of a newly hatched <a href="http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/prehistoric-world/">dinosaur</a> in this life-size reconstruction of 67-million-year-old fossils unearthed in India. (<a id="fbg5" title="Read full story." href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/03//100301-snake-eats-dinosaurs-fossils-sanejeh-indicus-scitech/">Read full story.</a>)</strong><br><br>Before the snake could strike, though, a surge of mud—washed out of a nearby channel by heavy rains—smothered the nest, killing both snake and prey and entombing them together.<br><br>The snake's interrupted meal offers a rare glimpse into the feeding behavior of ancient snakes—and the dangers newborn dinosaurs faced, said Jeffrey Wilson, a co-author of the new study on the discovery, to be published in this week's issue of the journal <em><a href="http://www.plosbiology.org/home.action">PLoS Biology</a></em>. <br><br>"It's actually one of the very few examples that we have of anything other than a dinosaur eating a dinosaur," Wilson said.</p>
Snake vs. Dinosaur
A prehistoric snake is poised to make a meal of a newly hatched dinosaur in this life-size reconstruction of 67-million-year-old fossils unearthed in India. (Read full story.)
Before the snake could strike, though, a surge of mud—washed out of a nearby channel by heavy rains—smothered the nest, killing both snake and prey and entombing them together.
The snake's interrupted meal offers a rare glimpse into the feeding behavior of ancient snakes—and the dangers newborn dinosaurs faced, said Jeffrey Wilson, a co-author of the new study on the discovery, to be published in this week's issue of the journal PLoS Biology.
"It's actually one of the very few examples that we have of anything other than a dinosaur eating a dinosaur," Wilson said.
Image courtesy Ximena Erickson and Bonnie Miljour; sculpture by Tyler Keillor
Pictures: Snake vs. Dinosaur in New Fossil Find
See the first proof that snakes ate dinosaurs—a first-ever fossil dinosaur-nest scene showing a serpent at the moment of attack.
Published March 3, 2010
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