SYDNEY, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Australian and international researchers have, for the first time, uncovered the fossilized stomach contents of a sauropod dinosaur, unveiling the feeding habits of these prehistoric giants.
The Curtin University-led research team detailed the last meal of a 95-million-year-old Diamantinasaurus matildae specimen, nicknamed "Judy," discovered and excavated in 2017 near Winton, Australia, according to a release from the Western Australia-based university on Tuesday.
Analysis of Judy's stomach contents revealed a varied diet of conifers, seed ferns, and flowering plants, indicating that sauropods fed on diverse vegetation at different heights, an adaptability that likely contributed to their long-term evolutionary success over 130 million years, according to the findings published in Current Biology.
"Ever since the late 19th century, paleontologists have firmly regarded sauropods as herbivores. However, the specific plants they ate, and the height above ground at which they fed, have remained unknown, until now," said lead researcher Stephen Poropat from Curtin University's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences.
The 12 m-long, still-growing sauropod's stomach contents show that subadult sauropods could feed at different heights and adapt to changing environments throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous, Poropat said.
The study confirmed that sauropods were bulk-feeders, swallowing food whole and digesting it over up to two weeks, similar to some modern reptiles and birds, according to the release.
The study marks the first time that biomarkers and plant molecules have been identified in sauropod gut contents, said the researchers, adding further work is needed to determine whether their feeding habits changed as they matured or varied among different species. ■
