Gouge in Fossil Jawbone Suggests War Wound: Scientists

So I wonder whether the midden-searchers of a thousand years from now will encounter this sort of thing with boxers and think, "Hmmm … wonder if they were involved in a knock-down, drag-out?"

Archaeologists have reported finding the remains of an ichthyosaur in Australia. No big deal, right? They find things like this all the time. Well, here's the kicker: This big beastie had a big gouge in its jaw, leading the archaeologists to speculate that the creature had been in a fight during which the creature had sustained a reptilian roundhouse to the mouth, specifically the lower jaw.

The remains were in good enough condition that the researchers were able to determine that the reptile did not die from the wound; rather, the not-so-wee beastie survived and even thrived, with a callus growing over the wound, its body's way of protecting against a repeat performance.

Now, this is fossils we're talking bout this point, since the ichthyosaur was swimming and running around about 120 million years ago, so the wound is definitely on the jawbone. The wound is not of the puncture variety, so the researchers don't think that a predator was behind the gouge. Given that, the researchers' current speculation is that the wound came from a reptile much similar to the one for which they have the remains — and that the fight was over the usual thing(s) — food, land, family.