Source: MACHARIOONWIKIPEDIA
This is a 110 million-year-old dinosaur weighing 1.3 tons, which was washed into the sea in Alberta, Canada, and plunged into the seabed after its death. In 2011, its fossils were discovered at Fort McMurray. What is particularly rare is that its stomach and stomach contents are well preserved, which gives scientists an excellent research opportunity.
Since 2017, this dinosaur fossil, along with its stomach contents and bones, has been exhibited at the Royal Tyrrell Museum. Researchers from the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Canada, Brandon University and the University of Saskatchewan in the United States have carefully studied the fossil and found that this dinosaur fossil has the best preserved stomach, which is the size of a football.
So scientists thought that from the stomach of this ankylosaurus, we might find information about its daily activities, living environment and food choices. On June 3, the study was published in the journal Royal Society OpenScience.
Previous studies only knew that these dinosaurs ate plant seeds and branches, but it was not clear what kinds of plants they were. Northern Canada was wetter and warmer than it is now, with dense forests and flowering plants just beginning to spread. The forest is dominated by coniferous forests and palm-like plants, while the ground is dominated by ferns and horsetails.
In general , ankylosaurs had small , leaf-shaped teeth , often dominated by relatively soft foods. The new study found that the ankylosaur's last meal was mainly fern leaves, of which 88% were leaves and 7% were branches. David Greenwood, a biologist at Brandon University, said, "When we examined thin sections of stomach contents under a microscope, we were shocked to see well-preserved concentrated plant material. Among marine fossils, we have almost never seen such excellent leaf preservation, including sporangia of the fern that produces spores. ”
Fossils show that the dinosaur died in the summer, within hours of eating the last meal. The researchers compared the stomach contents of ankylosaurus to plants from the same period and found that ankylosaurs were picky eaters, choosing specific ferns such as thin cysts ferns (the largest ferns today) rather than cysts and coniferous plants that were more common in the early Cretaceous period. Specifically, the researchers identified 48 microfossils such as pollen and spores in their stomach contents, including moss or land money, 26 species of stick moss and ferns, 13 gymnosperms (mainly conifers) and 2 angiosperms (flowering plants).
Detailed observation of gastric contents. Source: CNN
Dinosaur stomachs are the size of a football. Source: CNN
In addition, researchers also found burned charcoal (6% of the stomach contents) in the stomach of ankylosaurs, which means that dinosaurs foraged in areas where wildfires spread. Wildfires in the early Cretaceous period were common, and after the fires, dinosaurs would look for ferns on the ground in open areas. However, researchers don't know whether the dinosaurs ate charcoal deliberately or unintentionally.
The researchers also found gastroliths, which are meant to aid in its digestion.