The mark on this femur of Cryptoclidus matches the shape of the lower jaw of Liopleurodon.
The mark on this femur of Cryptoclidus matches the shape of the lower jaw of Liopleurodon.
Cryptoclidus a long-necked pleiosaur, well known from the Oxford Clay. Its bones commonly show bite marks, and in this case the shape of the indentation in the head of a femur can be closely matched to the shape of the lower jaw of Liopleurodon. The rest of this specimen of Cryptoclidus (which is in a private collection) shows that the predator bit deeply into the body at the base of the hind limb, and tore off a complete flipper together with the illium, a bone which forms part of the pelvic girdle.
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