The fossil set, nicknamed "BOB" or "Bag of Bones," belonged to a 20- to 23-foot-long (6 to 7 meters) ichthyosaur, an animal that belonged to a group of dolphin-shaped marine reptiles that lived alongside the dinosaurs during the Mesozoic era, from about 250 million to 90 million years ago. But in a new study, researchers discovered fragments of a pterosaur's jaw — along with fish and cephalopod remains — preserved inside the animal's body cavity.
The fossils may also hint at the ichthyosaur's violent end. Its skeleton — discovered in 2019 in Queensland's outback — contains shattered bones, missing ribs and large crushing injuries. Researchers think the gruesome wounds may have been inflicted by Kronosaurus queenslandicus, a colossal crocodile-like apex predator that lived 120 million to 100 million years ago in the ancient Eromanga Sea in Australia.
"Rapid burial after death is essential to prevent decay and scattering of remains," study co-author Matt White, a research associate at the University of New England in Australia, told Live Science in an email. "The animal must have died soon after its last meal so stomach acids don't fully digest the prey."
The ichthyosaur fossil set "BOB" gets scanned. (Image credit: Kronosaurus Korner Museum Queensland Australia)White said that advances in imaging technology are making it possible to uncover evidence that would previously have remained hidden inside fossils.
The pterosaur remains were found near the front of the ichthyosaur's body cavity rather than in their expected position as digested prey, which White and his colleagues think may be because the ichthyosaur struck the seafloor headfirst shortly after its last meal, shifting some of its stomach contents forward.
A graphical abstract of the research showing the complex food web of Cretaceous Australia. (Image credit: White et al. (2026))
Reconstructing an ancient ecosystem
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Although ichthyosaurs are known to have eaten fish and squidlike animals, evidence that they ate pterosaurs, a common predator of the ancient skies, has been elusive. The new fossil suggests that at least some ichthyosaurs may have fed on flying reptiles that landed on the water or died and floated to the surface.
"Such discoveries yield valuable information about trophic interactions and allow us to reconstruct ancient ecosystems in greater detail," White said.
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