Remains of an ornithischian dinosaur in a pliosaur from the Kimmeridgian of England

36 2 Fri, 01/01/1993 - 12:00 July 357 360

TAYLOR, M. A., NORMAN, D. B., CRUICKSHANK, A. R. I. 1993. Remains of an ornithischian dinosaur in a pliosaur from the Kimmeridgian of England. Palaeontology, 36, 2, 357–360.

Michael A. Taylor, David B. Norman and Arthur R. I. Cruickshank A specimen of the Kimmeridgian pliosaur Pliosaurus brachyspondylus includes three elements which do not appear to be plesiosaurian. A pair of left and right dermal scutes are ascribed to an unidentified armoured thyreophoran ornithischian dinosaur, and a single fragment is less definitely ascribed to the same animal. It is presumed that the pliosaur had been scavenging a dinosaur corpse shortly before its own death, and that the scutes were transported inside the pliosaur's stomach. This hypothesis cannot be verified because the pliosaur skeleton was severely disarticulated before burial, and partly destroyed before collection. The Palaeontological Association (Free Access)