Direct evidence of frugivory in the Mesozoic bird Longipteryx contradicts morphological proxies for diet

O’Connor, Jingmai; Clark, Alexander; Herrera, Fabiany; Yang, Xin; Wang, Xiaoli; Zheng, Xiaoting; Hu, Han; Zhou, Zhonghe

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2024.08.012

Current Biology

2024

DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.08.012

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Direct evidence of frugivory in the Mesozoic bird Longipteryx contradicts morphological proxies for diet

Jingmai O’Connor,

Alexander Clark,

Fabiany Herrera

et al.

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Convincing Evidence of Carnivorous Diet in Alvarezsaurian Dinosaur

Wang,

Ding,

et al. 2024

Preprint

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A dietary shift from carnivory to insectivore has been proposed to explain the dramatic morphological evolution of alvarezsaurians, particularly the adaptation related to the manual digital reduction and body size miniaturization. However, based solely on morphological shifts, this hypothesis lacked direct dietary evidence to support either carnivory or insectivore. Here, we present the first convincing dietary evidence for alvarezsaurians, derived from the intestinal contents of the Early Cretaceous Bannykus wulatensis. Our analysis revealed significantly higher levels of calcium and phosphorus in the intestinal contents compared to the surrounding sandstone. Scanning electron microscopy identified hard tissue debris and possible soft tissues surrounding by phosphatized bacteria and tightly packed hollow microspheres, suggesting that the intestinal contents were strongly pseudomorphed by phosphatized microbes during fossilization. Raman spectroscopy showed characteristic peaks indicative of bone-derived material, consistent with the hard tissue debris appeared in the intestinal contents. Our results suggest that Bannykus had a carnivorous diet with strong chemical digestion, which likely compensated for its delicate cranial structures and small teeth. These results imply that if a dietary shift to insectivore occurred, it likely took place later in alvarezsaurian evolution, probably coinciding with a reduction in body size.

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Convincing Evidence of Carnivorous Diet in Alvarezsaurian Dinosaur

Wang,

Ding,

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Direct evidence of frugivory in the Mesozoic bird Longipteryx contradicts morphological proxies for diet

Cited by 1 publication

References 61 publications

Convincing Evidence of Carnivorous Diet in Alvarezsaurian Dinosaur

Convincing Evidence of Carnivorous Diet in Alvarezsaurian Dinosaur

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