Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
cluded such tiny bone fragments (some of which were sand-sized), a fecal origin
made much more sense. (A cough pellet, in contrast, would have held more com-
plete bones.) Considering its great size and how both its geologic age and location
overlapped with that of
Tyrannosaurus rex
, this coprolite was most likely made by
that massive theropod. In their 1998 paper reporting their find, the paleontologists
crowned it as a “king-sized coprolite.”
Once this coprolite was linked with
T. rex
, it revealed much about the carni-
vorous behavior of the world's most famous dinosaur—or at least one individual of
that species—and some of it was surprising. For one, the bone was broken into tiny
pieces, which implied that this tyrannosaur either chewed its food thoroughly or it
nippedbonewhilefeeding.Yettyrannosaurteeth andjawsweremoresuitedforsli-
cingandcrushing,notgrindingforhoursornibblingdelicately.Furthermore,tooth-
marks in
Triceratops
and other dinosaur bones show that
T. rex
punctured bone.
Thus one explanation for so many small bone fragments is that it did come from
bonechippedwitheachpuncture,whichwentalongfortheridewithanyconsumed
flesh. Another possibility is that these bone bits came from this tyrannosaur scrap-
ingmeatandsinewofflongboneswithasidewaysmotionofitshead.Inthisspecu-
lativescenario,numerousdenticlesonitsserratedteethwouldhavetakenoffminute
pieces of bone.
Anotherunexpectedpointraisedbyallthisbonewashowitwasstillthere.Re-
member how big modern reptilian predators—such as crocodilians—digest bones
so well that almost none of it shows up in their scat? They do this by retaining food
in their guts for a long time. In contrast, undigested bone suggests that the meal
raced through the dinosaur and was not given enough time to be completely ab-
sorbed. Did this tyrannosaur have the runs, caused by endoparasites? Probably not,
but a short residence time for food also could have made room more quickly for
seconds, thirds, fourths, and dessert.
Despite the impressive size of this
T. rex
coprolite, it was surpassed by one
from the Late Cretaceous Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta, reported in 2003.
