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posted by martyb on Sunday September 24 2017, @06:06PM   Printer-friendly
from the Not-MegaVegan dept.

A study (open, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-11538-w) (DX) has found that large plant-eating dinosaurs opportunistically dined on crustaceans that sheltered in rotting logs:

Large plant-eating dinosaurs are usually presumed to have been strictly herbivorous, because their derived teeth and jaws were capable of processing fibrous plant foods. This inferred feeding behavior offers a generalized view of dinosaur food habits, but rare direct fossil evidence of diet provides more nuanced insights into feeding behavior. Here we describe fossilized faeces (coprolites) that demonstrate recurring consumption of crustaceans and rotted wood by large Late Cretaceous dinosaurs. These multi-liter coprolites from the Kaiparowits Formation are primarily composed of comminuted conifer wood tissues that were fungally degraded before ingestion. Thick fragments of laminar crustacean cuticle are scattered within the coprolite contents and suggest that the dinosaurian defecators consumed sizeable crustaceans that sheltered in rotting logs. The diet of decayed wood and crustaceans offered a substantial supply of plant polysaccharides, with added dividends of animal protein and calcium. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that the fossilized fecal residues depict year-round feeding habits. It is more reasonable to infer that these coprolites reflected seasonal dietary shifts—possibly related to the dinosaurs' oviparous breeding activities. This surprising fossil evidence challenges conventional notions of herbivorous dinosaur diets and reveals a degree of dietary flexibility that is consistent with that of extant herbivorous birds.

Also at BBC and NPR.


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  • (Score: 2) by bornagainpenguin on Sunday September 24 2017, @07:19PM (3 children)

    by bornagainpenguin (3538) on Sunday September 24 2017, @07:19PM (#572407)

    ...the herbivores were ovo-lacto pescatarians, not strict vegans? Whoa...

    • (Score: 2) by arslan on Sunday September 24 2017, @11:14PM

      by arslan (3462) on Sunday September 24 2017, @11:14PM (#572478)

      Doesn't sound too far fetched.. its not like they have chopsticks to pick out the bugs hiding in the plants...

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 25 2017, @06:45AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 25 2017, @06:45AM (#572567)

      https://io9.gizmodo.com/field-cameras-catch-deer-eating-birds-wait-why-do-deer-1689440870 [gizmodo.com]

      When researchers in North Dakota set up “nest cams” over the nests of song birds, they expected to see a lot of nestlings and eggs get taken by ground squirrels, foxes, and badgers. Squirrels hit thirteen nests, but other meat-eaters made a poor showing. Foxes and weasels only took one nest each. Know what fearsome animal out-did either of those two sleek, resourceful predators?

      White-tailed deer.

      They'll happily eat you too given the opportunity: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/05/deer-eating-human-forensics-decomposition/ [nationalgeographic.com]

    • (Score: 2) by darkfeline on Tuesday September 26 2017, @03:07AM

      by darkfeline (1030) on Tuesday September 26 2017, @03:07AM (#572912) Homepage

      No, what we're saying is that the dinosaur gods were quite similar to human gods. Both agree that seafood doesn't count as meat.

      --
      Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
  • (Score: 0, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday September 24 2017, @08:22PM

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Sunday September 24 2017, @08:22PM (#572443) Homepage

    Now, i dislike Islam. But if there is a lesson to be learned from it, it is that you are allowed to break the rules of it if it is the only way you can survive.

    For example, if you have no choice but to eat delicious bacon to live, then eat that delicious bacon.

  • (Score: 2) by JeanCroix on Monday September 25 2017, @03:29PM

    by JeanCroix (573) on Monday September 25 2017, @03:29PM (#572685)
    Introducing the Late Cretaceous Diet! Feast on nothing but rotted wood and the sizeable crustaceans that shelter in rotting logs! Please subscribe to my newsletter.
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