UAlberta researchers report first evidence of a raptor biting an Albertosaurus
Researchers at the University of Alberta, working with the Royal Tyrrell Museum, attribute tooth marks on an Albertosaurus jaw to a raptor. The fossil was handed in in 2022 and underwent four years of study led by master’s student Joshua Doyon.
Technicians at the Royal Tyrrell Museum identified small raking tooth marks on the lower jaw of an Albertosaurus specimen received from the public in 2022. A master’s student, Joshua Doyon, led a four‑year study at the University of Alberta that compared the traces with carnivore dentition and behavior. The team concluded the marks likely came from a raptor, making this the first documented case of such predation or scavenging on a tyrannosaurid. Located in the Drumheller badlands and supervised by established paleontologists including Philip Currie, the research adds new evidence about predator interactions during the late Cretaceous (67–73 Ma).