Montagu Island Eruption Heats Up »
« Continents Present on Earth Earlier Than Thought?
Dinosaur’s Diet: Grass!

Posted on Monday 21 November 2005 by Dave Schumaker

When most people think of the time the dinosaurs roam, and the plants associated with that period, thoughts of plush ferns and tall trees come to mind. According to new evidence found in fossilized dinosaur dung (also known as coprolite), grass was present at the time of the dinosaurs. It was originally thought that grass didn’t show up until 55 million years ago, after dinosaurs were extinct.

Fossilized dung tells the story: The most prominent plant-eating dinosaurs were digesting different varieties of grass between 65 million and 71 million years ago, researchers report Friday in the journal Science.

The earliest grass fossils ever found were about 55 million years old — from the post-dinosaur era.

Related Stories:
Dinosaurs Ancestors To Modern Birds - Theory Debunked?
Dinosaurs “invented” the biplane?
How Fossil Fuels Killed the Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs in Alaska
Dinosaurs - “Missing Link” Discovered


del.icio.us:Dinosaur's Diet: Grass!  digg:Dinosaur's Diet: Grass!  spurl:Dinosaur's Diet: Grass!  simpy:Dinosaur's Diet: Grass!  newsvine:Dinosaur's Diet: Grass!  furl:Dinosaur's Diet: Grass!  reddit:Dinosaur's Diet: Grass!  blogmarks:Dinosaur's Diet: Grass!  Y!:Dinosaur's Diet: Grass!  magnolia:Dinosaur's Diet: Grass!
Filed under: Paleontology

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.