An unusual fossil found in China suggests that some early mammals may have preyed on dinosaur, according to new research.

The fossil — which is reported to have dated back to around 125 million years ago — was found in China's Liaoning Province in 2012, the Canadian Museum of Nature said in a release.

It comes from an area of fossil beds dubbed "China's Dinosaur Pompeii," referring to the fossils of animals and dinosaurs in the area that had been buried suddenly by mudslides and debris following volcanic eruptions. 

The existence of such volcanic material in the study's fossil was confirmed, the museum wrote, after analysis from Canadian Museum of Nature mineralogist Dr. Aaron Lussier.

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Lussier was one of the authors of the study published Tuesday in the journal Scientific Reports that presented the Canadian and Chinese scientists' findings. 

"The two animals are locked in mortal combat, intimately intertwined, and it’s among the first evidence to show actual predatory behavior by a mammal on a dinosaur," Dr. Jordan Mallon, palaeobiologist with the Canadian Museum of Nature and fellow co-author, said in a statement.

The dinosaur in the fossil is identified as a species of a plant-eating Psittacosaurus, which lived in Asia during the Early Cretaceous — or around 105 to 125 million years ago. Psittacosaurus was an early relative of the horned dinosaur lineage, with a parrot-like beak. 

The mammal was apparently a badger-like animal called Repenomamus robustus, which was among the largest mammals during that period. It had short limbs, a long tail, a curvy body and shearing teeth.

Before the discovery of this fossil, palaeontologists knew that Repenomamus preyed on dinosaurs including Psittacosaurus because of fossilized baby bones of the herbivore found in the mammal’s stomach, the museum said. 

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"The co-existence of these two animals is not new, but what’s new to science through this amazing fossil is the predatory behavior it shows," Mallon noted. 

The fossil was reported to be in the care of co-author Dr. Gang Han, from the Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology, who brought it to the attention of Canadian Museum of Nature palaeobiologist Xiao-Chun Wu.

The museum highlighted that researchers had ruled out that the mammal was scavenging a dead dinosaur, because the dinosaur bones have no tooth marks and the position of the Repenomamus suggests it was also the aggressor.

The research team speculated that the volcanically derived deposits from the fossil beds in China will continue to yield new evidence of interactions among species.

"The fossil’s presence challenges the view that dinosaurs had few threats from their mammal contemporaries during the Cretaceous, when dinosaurs were the dominant animals," the museum wrote.

The study authors acknowledged to The Associated Press that there have been some fossil forgeries known from this part of the world, which Mallon told the agency was a concern when they started their research. 

However, after doing their own preparations of the skeletons and analyzing the rock samples, he said they were confident that the fossil was genuine, and would welcome other scientists to study the fossil as well.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Hackers are reportedly gaining access to Hikvision cameras through the company's mobile app and have used the feeds to sell child pornography on social media.

An investigation by IPVM, a surveillance industry trade publication, revealed that some hackers were using the company's Hik-Connect app to distribute child pornography on Telegram, the publication reported last week.

The investigation found several sales offers of nude videos on the platform, including some labeled "cp" (child porn), "kids room," "family room," "bedroom of a young girl" and "gynecological office."

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According to the report, the images were typically shared with other users by distributing a QR code that enables device sharing and streaming of cameras on the Hik-Connect app.

The images and videos were being shared or sold on at least seven Telegram channels, which all contained hundreds to more than 7,000 subscribers each, prompting an investigation by the Dubai-based platform that led to the channels being shut down.

Inside the channels, IPVM discovered offerings for viewing both children and adults nude, with one channel offering access to hacked cameras for $3 to $6.

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Some of the offerings included cameras labeled "family home, sometimes a young daughter," "family, bedroom of a young girl," "big house, young family, beautiful mom, wardrobe," "big family, cameras around the house, rooms of parents, brothers and sisters," "room of two sisters," "2 cameras in an Asian girl's room," "women's section, gynecological office," "wardrobe in a big house," "single nursing mother," "cosmetic procedures," "beauty salon," "men's locker room in the gym," "women's locker room in the fitness center" and "VIP booths in a strip club."

According to IPVM, the publication "promptly contacted" the FBI once it learned its investigation into the hacks involved child pornography while Hikvision accused the outlet of attempting to "damage our business."

"It is appalling and irresponsible that any organization would choose to advance its own objectives above protecting children. Hikvision knows nothing about these potential crimes. IPVM’s email was the first time the company has ever heard of anything like this," the company said in a statement when reached for comment by IPVM. "IPVM’s selfish decision to seek comment from us prior to alerting authorities is highly questionable and, in this instance, disgraceful. But if any part of IPVM’s reporting is true, Hikvision will enthusiastically assist law enforcement to bring those child predators to justice. We just hope IPVM’s lack of action has not given criminals a head start in evading justice."

Hikvision said in a statement to Fox News Digital that it "received an email from IPVM alleging that criminals have used its cameras to record unconscionable things. Our lawyers immediately reported the allegations to the US Department of Justice, multiple offices of the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children."

"We are doing everything we can to help. Additionally, we regularly upgrade our software as part of our ongoing commitment to delivering the safest, most reliable products and to detect and address any potential vulnerabilities."