Tyrannosaurus rex belongs to a group of dinosaurs called theropods. These dinosaurs generally have serrated, knife-like teeth that are typical of meat-eating carnivores.
The discovery of a small theropod dinosaur in China, however, shows that this group had more diversified dietary habits. This new dinosaur, named Incisivosaurus, for its large front teeth, shows wear marks on its teeth that are typical of tooth wear seen in plant-eaters.
Incisivosaurus teeth also lack the serrations typical of carnivore teeth. The discovery of a plant-eating theropod indicates that these dinosaurs were more diverse that previously thought, and occupied a variety of ecological roles in ecosystems 60 million years ago.
Source: Xu, X., Cheng, Y.-N. Wang, X.-L., and Chang, C.-H. (2002). "An unusual oviraptorosaurian dinosaur from China." Nature, 419: 291-293. For more information, click on the title of today's post.
No comments:
Post a Comment