Daily Dino Fact: Picky Eaters?
Friday, February 12th, 2010
Coprolite (Yes, it is what you think it is - look it up!!)
You dinos have my brain in overdrive with your great questions! Today’s question comes from Shadowflyer:
Were there ever any omnivorous dinosaurs?
There probably were omnivorous dinos (they ate both meat and plants), but there isn’t any conclusive proof. We can get an idea of what dinos ate from their teeth, fossilized stomach remains, and fossilized poop (coprolite). Carnivores generally have teeth made for biting and ripping, herbivores have teeth designed for grinding and chewing. When we see dinos with a combination of types of teeth, it could indicate that they were omnivores.
Some examples of omnivores are Ornithomimus and Oviraptor, which ate plants, eggs, insects, etc. Also, most herbivores are “accidental omnivores” because when they eat plants, they accidentally ingest many insects and other small animals.
Never stop learning!
ModCeno
