Fossilized vomit and waste tell 200-million-year story of what dinosaurs ate

Nov 29

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Craig Nigrelli Reporter

By Craig Nigrelli (Reporter), Alex Delia (Producer), Michael Edwards (Video Editor)

Scientists analyzing 200-million-year-old fossilized feces and vomit have uncovered new insights into how dinosaurs became Earth’s dominant species. The study, published in Nature, highlights the role of adaptability and diet in their evolutionary success.

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More than 500 samples of bromalites, or fossilized digestive remnants, were excavated from Poland’s ancient Polish Basin. Experts said the fossils span from the late Triassic to the early Jurassic periods.

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Researchers used advanced scanning techniques and chemical analysis to examine their contents, which included fish, insects, plants and charcoal.

The findings suggest dinosaurs were better equipped to adapt to environmental changes than their rivals. While other species struggled with restricted diets, dinosaurs evolved with diverse feeding habits, enabling them to thrive as volcanic activity and climate shifts reshaped ecosystems.

The study also sheds light on the evolutionary timeline of dinosaurs, tracing their rise from small omnivores to herbivorous and carnivorous giants. For instance, sauropodomorpha dinosaurs not only consumed a wide variety of plants, but may have used charcoal to detoxify toxic ferns. In contrast, creatures like dicynodonts, early mammal relatives, failed to adapt and disappeared.

Using cutting-edge tools like synchrotron microtomography, scientists reconstructed ancient food webs and observed a gradual increase in the size and diversity of dinosaur species. The analysis shows a complex interplay of factors, like agility, upright posture and dietary adaptability, contributed to their success.

The researchers concluded adaptability to shifting ecosystems was key to dinosaurs’ dominance, alongside chance events like climate shifts. The team hopes to apply their techniques globally to deepen understanding of dinosaur evolution.

Tags: Dinosaur fossils, Fossils, Science

DINOSAURS MAY HAVE GONE EXTINCT 66 MILLION YEARS AGO, BUT SCIENTISTS ARE STILL UNCOVERING FASCINATING NEW DETAILS ABOUT HOW THESE PREHISTORIC GIANTS ROSE TO RULE THE EARTH. AND SURPRISINGLY, ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CLUES COMES FROM… THEIR WASTE.

FOSSILIZED DINOSAUR VOMIT AND FECES… KNOWN AS BROMALITES… ARE GIVING RESEARCHERS AN UNPRECEDENTED LOOK INTO THE PAST.

A STUDY PUBLISHED IN NATURE ANALYZED MORE THAN 500 BROMALITES COLLECTED FROM POLAND’S ANCIENT POLISH BASIN, DATING BACK 200 MILLION YEARS. USING ADVANCED TECHNIQUES LIKE HIGH-RESOLUTION 3D SCANNING AND CHEMICAL ANALYSIS, SCIENTISTS UNCOVERED WHAT DINOSAURS ATE… AND HOW THEIR DIETS EVOLVED OVER TIME.

THESE FOSSILS REVEALED A REMARKABLE STORY: EARLY DINOSAURS WERE MODEST, OMNIVOROUS CREATURES FEEDING ON PLANTS AND ANIMALS. BUT OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS, THEY ADAPTED TO CHANGING ENVIRONMENTS, EVOLVING INTO THE PLANT-MUNCHING GIANTS AND FEARSOME CARNIVORES WE KNOW TODAY.

SO, WHAT ALLOWED DINOSAURS TO RISE TO DOMINANCE? THE RESEARCH POINTS TO A COMBINATION OF PHYSICAL ADVANTAGES… LIKE AGILITY FROM THEIR UPRIGHT STANCE… AND THE ABILITY TO ADAPT TO CHANGING CLIMATES AND DIETS. AS VOLCANIC ACTIVITY INCREASED, PLANT DIVERSITY EXPLODED. DINOSAURS TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THESE CHANGES, THRIVING WHILE OTHER SPECIES COULDN’T KEEP UP.

SCIENTISTS FOUND INCREDIBLY PRESERVED REMAINS OF INSECTS, FISH, PLANTS… EVEN TINY BEETLES WITH THEIR ANTENNAE STILL INTACT. THESE CLUES HELPED RECONSTRUCT ANCIENT FOOD WEBS, SHOWING WHICH DINOSAURS ATE WHAT AND HOW THEIR DIETS DIVERSIFIED OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS.

ONE KEY FIND? HERBIVOROUS DINOSAURS NOT ONLY ATE A WIDE RANGE OF PLANTS, BUT MAY HAVE EVEN USED CHARCOAL TO DETOXIFY POISONOUS VEGETATION THEY ATE. MEANWHILE, OTHER MAMMAL RELATIVES WITH RESTRICTED DIETS DIDN’T ADAPT… AND EVENTUALLY DISAPPEARED.

THESE ANCIENT BROMALITES PROVIDE A WHOLE NEW WINDOW INTO THE PAST. THE RESEARCH TEAM HOPES TO EXPAND THEIR WORK TO OTHER FOSSIL SITES WORLDWIDE… BUILDING AN EVEN MORE COMPLETE PICTURE ON THE COMPLEX HISTORY OF THE DINOSAUR DIET.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS… I’M CRAIG NIGRELLI.

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