- Fossilized dinosaur poop (coprolites) contains undigested food, which reveals what dinosaurs ate. Analysis of the fossils provides a glimpse of an ancient environment.
- During the late Triassic epoch, 237 to 201 million years ago, dinosaurs in Central Europe underwent significant evolutionary changes, replacing other animals.
- Dinosaurs’ diverse diets and adaptability to climate and environmental changes contributed to their evolutionary success during the late Triassic epoch.
Clues to an ancient environment in fossilized dinosaur poop
Much of what we know about dinosaurs comes from fossilized bones. But did you know that dinosaur poop could also be fossilized? And as with animals today, the poop of now-extinct dinosaurs contained remnants of undigested food. Scientists call fossilized dinosaur poop coprolites. They study it, to learn about what dinosaurs ate. And knowing their diet gives us a glimpse of the world as it was when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, hundreds of millions of years ago. Recently, scientists said they analyzed hundreds of coprolites, deposited 237 to 201 million years ago in Central Europe. What they found provided valuable clues to the world of that ancient age.
The researchers published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal Nature on November 27, 2024.
Martin Qvarnström, of Uppsala University in Sweden, is the lead author of the paper. He said in a statement:
Piecing together ‘who ate whom’ in the past is true detective work. Being able to examine what animals ate and how they interacted with their environment helps us understand what enabled dinosaurs to be so successful.
What did they eat?
The scientists used synchrotron imaging to create detailed three-dimensional visualizations of what’s inside the coprolites. And this imaging revealed undigested food.
In coprolites from herbivores, the researchers found undigested plant material, for example, parts of leaves. Indeed, they found a large amount of tree ferns, and other types of plants, and were surprised to find charcoal in the coprolites of long-necked sauropods (large bodied herbivorous dinosaurs). The scientists speculate that the animals ingested charcoal to help absorb toxins from poisonous plants.
Meanwhile, in omnivore and carnivore dinosaur coprolites, they found the remains of animals. On the other hand, some coprolites had well-preserved beetles and partial fish. Others contained crushed bones that had been chewed, not unlike the way modern-day hyenas chew bones to crush them, giving them access to salts and bone marrow.
Dinosaurs in Central Europe during the late Triassic
Dinosaurs first evolved in the middle of the Triassic Period, a time that spanned 252 to 201 million years ago. Coprolites in this study came from the late Triassic (237 to 201 million years ago) in an area in Central Europe known as the Polish Basin. Back then, this region was the northern part of the supercontinent Pangaea.
During the late Triassic, dinosaurs were on the verge of starting their reign as the dominant creatures on Earth (a reign that ended 66 million years ago). Notably, during that epoch, that spanned 36 million years, undigested food in coprolites revealed increasing food size and diversity. This indicated that dinosaur species were becoming more diverse, with new feeding characteristics.
Overall, scientists used several types of information to get a picture of the dinosaurs’ environment in the late Triassic of Central Europe. They compiled information on undigested food in the coprolites. They also used climate data and other fossil information such as fossil plants, bite marks on bones, fossilized vomit, footprints, and, of course, the dinosaur fossil bones.
In their paper, the researchers summarized what their analysis said about dinosaurs in Central Europe during the late Triassic:
Takeaways from this new analysis
The new research has filled in gaps about what scientists know about early dinosaurs during the late Triassic. According to the researchers, their results indicate that the diversity of foods that these dinosaurs ate, as well as their adaptability, were important reasons for their survival during environmental changes in the late Triassic. Qvarnström commented:
Unfortunately, climate change and mass extinctions are not just a thing of the past. By studying past ecosystems, we gain a better understanding of how life adapts and thrives under changing environmental conditions.
Grzegorz Niedzwiedzki, a paper co-author, added:
The way to avoid extinction is to eat a lot of plants, which is exactly what the early herbivorous dinosaurs did. The reason for their evolutionary success is a true love of green and fresh plant shoots.
Bottom line: Undigested food in fossilized dinosaur poop, from the late Triassic epoch of Central Europe, provides a glimpse of the environmental conditions of that time.
Source: Digestive contents and food webs record the advent of dinosaur supremacy
Read more: Rare dinosaur tracks are longest continuous set of sauropod footprints
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