Queensland Fossil Reveals 100‑Million‑Year‑Old Predator Food Chain

Paleontologists uncovered a three‑tier fossilized food chain in Queensland, Australia. The specimen includes a 20‑foot ichthyosaur, *Platypterygius australis*, whose stomach contained fragments of a pterosaur jaw, providing the first direct evidence that this marine reptile ate flying reptiles.

The fossil also shows bite marks and crushed bones indicating that the ichthyosaur was subsequently preyed upon by a larger pliosaur, *Kronosaurus queenslandicus*, which measured over 30 feet. The discovery, published in *Gondwana Research*, offers a rare snapshot of predator‑prey interactions from the Cretaceous period, capturing three successive levels of the ancient marine food web in a single rock.