Data from: Feeding habits of the Middle Triassic pseudosuchian Batrachotomus kupferzellensis from Germany and palaeoecological implications for archosaurs

Bite traces on fossil bones are key to deciphering feeding ecology and
trophic interactions of vertebrate past ecosystems. However, similarities
between traces produced by different carnivorous taxa with similar
dentitions and misidentifications due to equifinality hinder confident
identifications of the bite makers. Here, we correlate bite traces with
macroscopic wear and microanatomy of the teeth of the pseudosuchian
archosaur Batrachotomus kupferzellensis from the Triassic Lower Keuper
fossil lagerstätten (southern Germany), untangling its feeding habits and
shedding light on the bite traces generated by ziphodont teeth (teeth with
serrated carinae). Individually, bite traces reflect tooth morphology,
whereas composite bite traces and their frequency are related to feeding
behaviour and explain tooth macroscopic wear and microanatomy. Therefore
the identification of the bite maker is possible by analysing composite
bite traces, their location on bones, and their relative abundance. In
addition, tooth macroscopic wear and microanatomy are proven as
independent lines of evidence of feeding ecology. Comparing bite traces on
fossil and present-day bone assemblages, we observe that bone
modifications by the crocodylomorph lineage (from Triassic pseudosuchian
archosaurs to extinct and extant crocodylians) are strikingly similar,
including taxa with and without ziphodont teeth. Such a set of features
differs from bone modification assemblages produced by taxa with similar
ziphodont teeth outside the pseudosuchian lineage (such as theropod
dinosaurs and the Komodo monitor), suggesting a phylogenetic signal in
feeding ecology among saurian reptiles. --