Los Angeles Times

Plant-eating dinosaurs may have dined on crustaceans on special occasions, study says

Think dinosaurs didn't mix things up at mealtime? Think again. Researchers studying fossilized dinosaur feces from about 75 million years ago have discovered that at least some plant-eating dinosaurs also snacked on shellfish.

The discovery of crustacean remains in the droppings, described in Scientific Reports, reveals that large herbivorous dinosaurs such as hadrosaurs may have had far more complex eating habits than we usually give them credit for.

"We need to refine our presumptions about dinosaur diets," said lead author Karen Chin, a paleontologist at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Scientists studying the creatures of the lost world, ultimately annihilated by an asteroid some 66 million years ago,

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times10 min read
With 'Palm Royale,' Bruce And Laura Dern Are (finally) Father And Daughter On Screen
LOS ANGELES — Laura Dern and her father, veteran actor Bruce Dern, are in a room together and, within minutes, the stories begin. There was talk about the advice he received from the giants that orbited his life — like Elia Kazan, whom Bruce studied
Los Angeles Times8 min read
Higher Prices On The Menu As Fast-food Chains Brace For California’s Big Minimum Wage Jump
Chipotle, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Jack in the Box and Shake Shack are planning to raise menu prices. Fast-food franchisees are laying off employees or cutting their hours. Smaller independent business owners, meanwhile, worry their workers will bolt u
Los Angeles Times2 min readInternational Relations
Editorial: The Humanitarian Aid Gaza Needs Most Is A Cease-fire
In Gaza, famine is imminent. To get urgently needed food, clean water, temporary sanitation facilities and medical supplies to more than 2 million Palestinians, President Biden ordered construction of a floating dock. Building it will take weeks. In

Related