Putative dicynodont coprolites from the Upper Triassic of Poland

Bajdek, Piotr; Owocki, Krzysztof; Niedźwiedzki, Grzegorz

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2014.06.013

“…Fossilized feces, gastric contents, and regurgitations ("bromalites, " sensu Hunt et al, 1994; see also Hunt and Lucas, 2012) can tell us a lot about the dietary behavior of extinct organisms (Chin and Kirkland, 1998;Chin et al, 2008;Bajdek et al, 2014;Qvarnström et al, 2016). They mostly fossilize in situ (Hu et al, 2010;Bajdek, 2013), as isolated coprolites (Eriksson et al, 2011;Dentzien-Dias et al, 2012;Niedźwiedzki et al, 2016) or associated with the producer's skeleton (Hone et al, 2015;Wang et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They are three-dimensional, sub-spherical structures containing tiny fragments of thick ganoid scales; despite their poor preservation, they are clearly spiral. Thus, because of their very different morphology with respect to the mesosaur coprolites, they are good stratigraphic markers in incompletely preserved sections of the Mangrullo Formation that do not contain mesosaur remains (but see critical notes on coprostratigraphy in Bajdek et al, 2014;Niedźwiedzki et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Feeding Habits of Mesosauridae

Silva

¹

,

Ferigolo

²

,

Bajdek³

et al. 2017

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Mesosauridae comprises the oldest known aquatic amniotes which lived in Gondwana during the Early Permian. Previous work in the Uruguayan mesosaur-bearing Mangrullo Formation suggested that mesosaurids lived in an inland water body, inferred as moderately hypersaline, with exceptional preservational conditions that justified describing these strata as a Fossil-Lagerstätte. Exquisitely preserved articulated mesosaur skeletons, including gastric content and associated coprolites, from the Brazilian Iratí Formation in the State of Goiás (central-western Brazil) indicate excellent conditions of preservation, extending the Konservat-Lagerstätte designation to both units in the Paraná Basin. The near-absence of more resistant fossil remains, like actinopterygian and temnospondyl bones, demonstrates the faunistic poverty of the mesosaur-bearing "salty sea." Our studies of the alimentary habits of mesosaurids through the use of stereoscopic microscopy, light and electronic microscopy, and X-ray diffractometry suggest that the diet of mesosaurids was predominantly composed of pygocephalomorph crustaceans (possibly not exceeding 20 mm in length). However, the presence of bones and bone fragments of small mesosaurs in the gastric content, cololites, coprolites, and possible regurgitalites may also indicate cannibalistic and/or scavenging habits. Cannibalism is relatively common among vertebrates, particularly during conditions of environmental stress, like food shortage. Likewise, the apparent abundance of pygocephalomorph crustacean fossils in the Iratí and Mangrullo Formations, outside and within the studied gastric, cololite, and coprolite contents, might have to do with environmental stress possibly caused by volcanic activity, in particular ash spread into the basin during the Early Permian. In this context, casual necrophagy on the dead bodies of small mesosaurs and large pygocephalomorphs might have been an alternative alimentary behavior adopted for survival in mesosaurs.

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“…Animals consume considerable amounts of sediment while feeding (e.g. eastern painted turtle 6%, bison 7%, nine-banded armadillo 17%) (Beyer et al 1994, Bajdek et al 2014) and swallowed clastic grains may accumulate in the food chain passing into the guts of top predators (Bajdek et al 2017). Notably, there is no gastric mill in the pygmy hippopotamus despite gravel may constitute 1/3 of its total wet stomach content (Wings et al 2008).…”

Section: Digestion In Dinosaurs and Early Birdsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative digestive physiology of archosaurs with notes on bird origins

Bajdek

¹

2018

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It is widely accepted that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs, and few paleontologists disagree preferring a more ancient split of the avian and dinosaur lineages. The difference in digestive physiology between members of the theropod and crocodile lineages, documented by fossil feces and gut contents, offers an opportunity to test these phylogenetic hypotheses. Birds share with crocodiles the functional gizzard that contains swallowed stones and where gastric pellets are formed before regurgitation, as well as a mechanism that prevents the passage of indigestible residues into the intestine. Both these adaptations are missing in unquestionable theropod groups (compsognathids, tyrannosaurids, allosaurids, coelophysids). The theropod ancestry of birds implies reappearance and strong development of a specific stomach functionality that either had been already lost in the theropod dinosaurs or was never present in their lineage. Coprolites of early archosaurs contain undigested bones, which suggests a short digestion time and higher metabolic rates than in extant crocodiles. Early archosaurs were similar to birds, but not to dinosaurs, in all these aspects of physiology.

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“…Animals consume considerable amounts of sediment while feeding (e.g. eastern painted turtle 6%, bison 7%, nine-banded armadillo 17%) (Beyer et al 1994, Bajdek et al 2014) and swallowed clastic grains may accumulate in the food chain passing into the guts of top predators . Notably, there is no gastric mill in the pygmy hippopotamus despite gravel may constitute 1/3 of its total wet stomach content (Wings et al 2008).…”

Section: Digestion In Dinosaurs and Early Birdsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative digestive physiology of archosaurs with notes on bird origins

Bajdek

¹

2018

Preprint

Self Cite

1

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It is widely accepted that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs, and few paleontologists disagree preferring a more ancient split of the avian and dinosaur lineages. The difference in digestive physiology between members of the theropod and crocodile lineages, documented by fossil feces and gut contents, offers an opportunity to test these phylogenetic hypotheses. Birds share with crocodiles the functional gizzard that contains swallowed stones and where gastric pellets are formed before regurgitation, as well as a mechanism that prevents the passage of indigestible residues into the intestine. Both these adaptations are missing in unquestionable theropod groups (compsognathids, tyrannosaurids, allosaurids, coelophysids). The theropod ancestry of birds implies reappearance and strong development of a specific stomach functionality that either had been already lost in the theropod dinosaurs or was never present in their lineage. Coprolites of early archosaurs contain undigested bones, which suggests a short digestion time and higher metabolic rates than in extant crocodiles. Early archosaurs were similar to birds, but not to dinosaurs, in all these aspects of physiology.

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Putative dicynodont coprolites from the Upper Triassic of Poland

Cited by 47 publications

References 76 publications

The Feeding Habits of Mesosauridae

The Feeding Habits of Mesosauridae

Comparative digestive physiology of archosaurs with notes on bird origins

Comparative digestive physiology of archosaurs with notes on bird origins

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