Insights into the Diet of Young Tyrannosaurs: Fossilized Stomach Contents Reveal Prey Preferences
Paleontologists in Canada have discovered a 75-million-year-old fossilized skeleton of a juvenile tyrannosaurid dinosaur, Gorgosaurus libratus, with the remains of two young individuals of the small dinosaur Citipes elegans in its stomach. This finding provides direct evidence that young tyrannosaurs had different diets than their adult counterparts, suggesting a major dietary shift as they grew. Juvenile tyrannosaurs likely hunted small and young prey, while adults hunted large herbivores. The study sheds light on the ontogenetic dietary shifts of these iconic predators.