A giant predator that lived 240 million years ago was decapitated with a single, brutal bite from a deadlier creature, scientists have said.
The beheaded animal, which had its neck ripped in half during the attack, belonged to the species Tanystropheus hydroides — a marine reptile that could grow to 19.5 feet (6 meters) long. It was an ambush predator, feasting on fish and squid in what was a tropical lagoon during the Middle Triassic (247 to 237 million years ago).
Tanystropheus had extremely long necks; in some cases their necks were three times as long as their torsos. The decapitated animal came from the Monte San Giorgio fossil site, which sits on the border of Switzerland and Italy and boasts a huge record of marine life from the Middle Triassic.
