Non-dinosaurian predation and scavenging on dinosaurs: a list of direct evidence

The main predators of dinosaurs were other dinosaurs, such as tyrannosaurids. However, carnivorous dinosaurs were not the only predators in the Mesozoic ecosystems. This paper presents the first list of direct fossil evidence of predation and scavenging by non-dinosaurian vertebrates on dinosaurs (including birds), such as bite marks (n = 35), stomach contents (n = 5), preserved predation/scavenging events (n = 3), coprolites (n = 1), and regurgitalites (n = 1). The major predator/scavenger taxa associated with this evidence are crocodyliforms, mammaliaforms, and sharks. The predator/scavenger taxa also included marine reptiles (plesiosaurs, an ichthyosaur, and a mosasaur), an archosaur Smok wawelski, and possibly a pterosaur. The findings underscore the diversity of trophic interactions that shaped food webs in the Mesozoic ecosystems.