All articles tagged with #herbivores
Scientists discovered a new species of Permian herbivorous tetrapod, Yinshanosaurus angustus, in China, providing insights into the evolution of ancient herbivores and their role in late Permian ecosystems, highlighting the diversity and widespread distribution of pareiasaurs before their extinction at the end of the period.
A well-preserved sauropod dinosaur named Judy was discovered in Australia with fossilized remains of its last meal, providing direct evidence that these long-necked dinosaurs were herbivores that ate a variety of plants, including conifers, seed ferns, and flowering plants, and shedding light on their feeding habits and diet changes during growth.
The discovery of the first sauropod stomach contents from 100 million years ago reveals they were herbivores that relied on fermentation and gut microbes for digestion, not chewing, and suggests they played a significant role as ecosystem engineers throughout their lives.
A fossilized gut content of a 94-101 million-year-old sauropod dinosaur revealed that these herbivores primarily relied on gut microbes for digestion, consumed a variety of plants including conifers, seed ferns, and flowering plants, and engaged in minimal oral processing, supporting the idea of bulk feeding. This discovery provides rare direct evidence of sauropod diet and suggests they were indiscriminate feeders that adapted to eating flowering plants shortly after their appearance.
A study from Aarhus University and the Wildlife Institute of India reveals that large herbivores, such as elephants and rhinos, can help protect native plants by eating and trampling on invasive plant species. Native plants have evolved to withstand the impact of herbivores they coexist with, while invasive plants typically cannot. The research suggests that using large herbivores as a natural weapon can prevent invasive plants from outcompeting native species. The study's findings are relevant not only in India but also in other areas with herbivores of varying sizes.
Rhynchosaurs, herbivorous creatures that lived around 245 million years ago in the Triassic Era, had a critical design flaw that made their fossil-based reputation as "grinning" reptiles a lie. Due to physiological limitations in their jaws, rhynchosaurs likely starved to death once they hit old age. They favored a diet consisting of tough vegetation that ground their teeth down to such a point that they would no longer be able to get adequate nutrition. The changes to their jaw and mouth also left them with what appeared to be a permanent grin.