Dinosaurs may not have dental records, but their fossilized teeth offer fascinating clues in their dietary habits. Inspecting chemical signatures stored in enamel, scientists writing in Paleography, paleoclimatology, paleoecology They discovered that different herbivorous species had different preferences and were partial to different parts of the plant, a fact that allowed vast ecosystems and various flourish for millions of years.
“It really is more proof that this ecosystem was as spectacular as we thought,” said principal author Liam Norris, a newly graduated from the Jackson Geosciences School of the University of Texas, in A press release.
Dinosaur teeth enamel
A set of Diplodocus teeth sampled by researcher Liam Norris. (Image credit: Liam Norris)
Dinosaurs subjected to this private dental inspection were found in the first Majegie quarry in Tithonian in the National Dinosaur monument, a fossil emporium on the border of Utah and Colorado. The site offers an intriguing snapshot of life in the Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago, revealing high levels of diversity and a complex ecosystem with multiple large animals that live with each other.
The researchers performed calcium isotope analysis in dental enamel of three herbivorous dinosaurs, a carnivorous dinosaur and a crocodiliform (Etretauransuchus). This included two Diplodocus (A long -neck planter), two Campptosaurio (A short -handed peak peak herbivore), four Camarasaurio (A slightly smaller long -neck planter) and five ALOSAUR (A great meat consumer).
A benefit to use tooth enamel is that it is incredibly resistant. Its greatest density and less porosity mean that it is more likely to remain stable over time compared to other materials, such as bone or dentin. Another reason why teeth are such a valuable tool for paleontologists is their calcium content, which retains the chemical firms of the food they ate.
When interpreting these firms, the team could not only determine which plants ate the dinosaurs, but also what parts of those plants, such as the cortex or the leaves, were consumed.
Read more: The T. Rex had dinner in huge dinosaurs that eat plants, and among themselves
Dinosaur dining preferences
The results reveal how so many herbivores could coexist. They not only survived eating different canopy levels, with higher dinosaurs that ate leaves closer to the top, but also eating different parts of the plant first.
The researchers found That Cecosaurus preferred the soft parts of plants, such as leaves and shoots, while Camarasaurio It showed a inclination for woody plants, regularly eating conifers. He Diplodocus It seemed to be less borning, consuming soft ferns and horse tail plants, as well as tougher parts of the plant. This may have been possible by the long necks that allowed them to reach the plants raised in the canopy, as well as those that are closest to the ground.
“This differentiation in the diet makes sense with what we see of the morphology of these animals: the different height, the different form of the snout,” Norris said. “Then, we bring this geochemical data, which is a very specific evidence to add to that boat.”
The team also found differences in the diets of the two species that eat meat: the ALOSAUR and Etretauransuchus. While the results suggest that the latter had dinner in a fish diet, the first was probably an opportunistic carnivore, crossing the meat of dinosaurs that eat plants. The researchers point out that the bone did not seem to form an important part of the ALLOSAURUS ‘ Diet, which leads them to speculate that specialized in tear flesh.
Taken as a whole, the findings paint an image of a colorful ecosystem that contains a wide range of species with complementary dietary preferences. This, the researchers say, allowed them to coexist for millions of years.
Read more: Fossils in Sauropod of 100 million years suggest that they do not chew their food
Article Sources
Our writers in Discovermagazine.com Use studies reviewed by pairs and high quality sources for our articles, and our editors review to obtain scientific precision and editorial standards. Check the sources used below for this article:
Rosie McCall is an independent writer who lives in London. It has covered science and health issues for publications, including IFLSCience, Newsweek and Health.
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