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tyrannosaurids, such as Tyrannosaurus rex ; one of these is more than twice the
length of a 12-inch sub sandwich. Moreover, coprolites in Late Cretaceous rocks of
India have been connected to sauropods.
Nonetheless, the vast majority of probable dinosaur coprolites fall into the
aforementioned nebulous categories of “carnivore” or “herbivore.” For example,
Early Cretaceous coprolites from Belgium have bone fragments in them. Hence,
these are allied with carnivorous theropods, but nothing more can be said about
them. This vagueness is especially apparent once dinosaur ichnologists admit, with
much embarrassment, that we have no idea how to distinguish whether therizino-
saurs,ornithomimids,ankylosaurs,nodosaurs,stegosaurs,ceratopsians,pachyceph-
alosaurs, or lots of other dinosaurs made some dinosaur coprolites. We also have
not yet discovered a dinosaur coprolite showing any evidence of insect eating, nor
of clear omnivory in which, say, a dinosaur had a salad with its steak.
Of these, coprolites showing that some dinosaurs ate insects as a regular part
of their diet would qualify as fantastic finds. This seemingly un-dinosaur-like be-
havior, which is extremely common in modern birds, was proposed for the bizarre
theropod Mononykus from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia and a few other thero-
pods.Soifinsect-bearingcoprolitesoftherightsizewerefoundinstrataoftheright
age,environment,andplaceas Mononykus bones,thiswouldbeonewaytoconfirm
an idea that is now mostly speculative.
Dinosaur Dung, Conifers, Insects, Bacteria, and Snails: A Love Story
Every day, I give thanks to dung beetles. My thanks is offered for what these
insectsdotokeepourplanetclean,becauseotherwisewewouldbeuptoourwaists
in waste. The tight relationship between large herbivores and their diligent insect
cleanup crews is easy to witness today: wherever elephants, cows, horses, or oth-
er plant-eating mammals loosen their bowels, dung beetles are not far behind. Why
are these beetles and other insects, such as dung flies, attracted to feces? Because
it is irresistible as baby food. Some beetles roll balls of this nutritious stuff as take-
out, which they push into burrows, lay eggs on them, and seal off the burrow. Other
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