The Reinaut Formation in the south of the continent called Guralta is one of, if not the most extensive fossil site from the late Bobossic. Dated to have been formed between 125 and 122 million Eryobian years ago, the Reinaut Formation offers a glimpse of what life was like in the Kikilian, the latest stage of the Bobossic right before the devastating mass extinction dubbed “The World Scarring” happened.
Back when it was formed, the Reinaut Formation was likely a subtropical or temperate open woodland subject to seasonal rains. The fossils discovered in the Reinaut Formation so far, have mostly been megafaunal animals which tended to fossilise better than smaller animals in the conditions that were present in Reinaut 122 million years ago.
The largest carnivore in Reinaut was the gigantic Kampourischiid Onchometopos aplestus. Unlike its relative Kampourischium with which it shared its environment, Onchometopos was a very robustly built animal that was likely incapable of running at high speeds or for very long. With its bone shattering jaws, long arms equipped with large claws and heavy reinforced body, it is thought that Onchometopos was a hunter specialised in killing Ceratanodires, animals themselves built like walking tanks.
Several Onchometopos individuals have been described and all of them had healed fractures or broken bones in one way or another, indicating that Onchometopos lead a violent life, prone to injury. They likely targeted younger, older and weaker Ceratanodires, but even then they’d still face a formidable foe or other herd members, causing the many broken bones Onchometopos had to deal with in life.
It’s thought that Onchometopos used a combination of heavy bites and lacerating slashed to kill its prey, but sadly we will never know for sure since hunting behaviour tends not to fossilise.
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