By Emilia Randall

Copyright dailyrecord

One of the earliest human ancestors suffered a horrifically brutal death at the mercy of an extinct mega-predator in what may rank among the most savage demises in history. The individual known as OH7 was a Homo habilis, amongst the most ancient human species that inhabited southern and eastern Africa, who met his end through a monstrous crocodile attack. Mercifully, these terrifying beasts are now extinct. The Crocodylus thorbjarnarsoni, a crocodilian from Kenya’s Turkana Basin, was the largest ever to exist, stretching up to 25 metres in length and tipping the scales at 25 tonnes. Moreover, the Homo habilis represented one of the most diminutive species – with individuals standing roughly 4 feet tall “resulting in them being very very fragile and making life very hard for them”, according to Extinct Zoo. OH7 – an individual would have inhabited an ancient marshland environment, met his initial doom when the massive reptile tore his leg completely away – as his injury would have been immediately surrounded by contaminated, scorching mud, reports the Mirror . Subsequently, a second fatal blow was struck. A big cat then mauled his skull – carving deep channels into his bones. Scientists believe the feline may have been a leopard. Extinct Zoo said: “It’s hypothesised that while getting attacked by the croc – he may have turned to face it while leaving his back wide open to a nearby feline.” Even in modern times, crocodiles and big cats have been witnessed battling over identical prey – so this scenario could very well explain how OH7 perished. In another horrific death, a Homo heidelbergensis, a species of archaic human from the Middle Pleistocene of Europe and Africa, was discovered with holes in his skull in a Spanish cave in what is thought to be the oldest ever murder. This means he would have died quickly from catastrophic head and brain injury. The cave was sloped and had sharp points, leading scientists to think these may have made the holes – but the holes were identical. So it was then thought it was an animal that caused the holes- however no animals’ teeth matched these mark. It was concluded the holes must have come from stone axes – which cause severe blunt force trauma – meaning this man was likely murdered 430,00 years ago. Extinct Zoo said: “It is now considered the oldest case of murder and demonstrates that murder may have been part of our history before we even existed.” Thousands of other bones were found in the cave too, meaning many many more could have suffered the same fate. However, none were as old as the original case of Homo heidelbergensis murder. The current belief is this cave may have been one of the oldest examples of a designated burial site. “This early violence could have been a fight as a result of a dispute over resources or territory, ” the channel added.