CHAPTER 3 - Eating Flashcards
The history of dinosaur evolution spans over
160 million years
What type of teeth did herbivores usually have?
thin, ridged or “leaf-shaped” teeth for shearing and broad, flat teeth for grinding.
what type of teeth did Carnivores usually have?
sharp pointed teeth for piercing, and sharp hooked claws for holding onto struggling prey. Most also have teeth with serrated edges
Serrations are
small sharp bumps on a tooth that are arranged in a line that usually runs from the tip to the base of the tooth.
Frugivores eat primarily
Fruit. The beak of a parrot is sharp and hooked (not unlike the beak of a carnivorous bird), because it needs to rip and tear apart the peels and protective husks of large tropical fruits.
Piscivores are
specialized carnivores that primarily eat fish. Piscivores tend to have tall, sharp, conical teeth that usually lack serrations.
Insectivores are
specialized carnivores that primarily eat insects.Some insectivores, like shrews and hedgehogs, have sharp piercing teeth for puncturing the chitinous exoskeletons of insects.many insectivores have weak jaws and reduced teeth.
durophagy
is the term for describing the eating behavior of animals that consume hard-shelled or exoskeleton bearing organisms, such as corals, shelled mollusks, or crabs. Durophagy requires special adaptions, such as blunt, strong teeth and a heavy jaw
Omnivores are
eat significant amounts of both meat and plants. Humans are a good example of an omnivore, as are pigs, most bears, rats, crows, and many turtles.
Resorption is
the chemical process by which a dinosaur breaks down its own teeth and bones so that the minerals and nutrients that compose them can be reused.
Cellulose
A compound that make up the walls of plant cells. Animals cannot digest cellulose on their own. Animals need help from bacteria that live within their stomach and intestines
Dental batteries are
arrangements of densely packed teeth that collectively form a single, large chewing surface,
the two groups of dinosaurs evolved dental batteries:
hadrosaurs and ceratopsians. (replaced their thousands of teeth very quickly)
enamel & dentine
usually covers the outside of a tooth & usually common on the inside of a tooth
The dental batteries of hadrosaurs and ceratopsians are unrelated meaning
they evolved independently, and hadrosaurs and ceratopsians do not share a common ancestor that possessed dental batteries
In hadrosaurs, the chewing surfaces formed (angled which way)
the dental batteries are angled downwards, but still mostly horizontal.
When hadrosaurs chewed, they moved their jaws (which direction(s))
backwards and forwards and also from side to side
The chewing surfaces formed by the dental batteries of ceratopsians (which direction in comparison to the hadrosaurs)
are almost vertical. Teeth in the jaws of ceratopsians would have slid together like scissor blades, with the opposing lateral sides of the teeth doing most of the grinding.
The dental batteries of both hadrosaurs and ceratopsians are inset in the jaw which gave what advantage?
make room for large cheeks, and cheeks are important for holding in food while an animal chews.
ankylosaurs and sauropods had what kind of teeth?
simple, that could be used to nip off vegetation but could only help break down their food a little
Ankylosaurs and sauropods have
huge ribcages that housed immense digestive organs.
Oviraptorosaurs and ornithomimids are two kinds of
herbivorous theropods.
some oviraptorosaur and ornithomimids
skeletons have small masses of little stones inside their ribcages called
gastroliths.These stones were once part of the dinosaurs’ gastric mills.
A gastric mill is
a special stone-filled digesting organ located near the stomach. (like a gizzard)
Dromaeosaurs are a group of
theropod dinosaurs with thin tails supported by special rod-like projections of their caudal vertebrae and chevrons.
Spinosaurs are
a group of theropods with skulls that strongly resemble those of crocodiles. spinosaur teeth are conical, have sharp tips, and have few or no serrations.
Alvarezsaurs are
a group of small theropods with short front limbs and compact hands. Alvarezasaurs are thought to have been insectivores.
Tyrannosaurs are a
group of theropods that evolved late in the history of dinosaurs and have reduced front limbs and robust skulls.Tyrannosaur teeth have serrated edges and are well adapted for puncturing and cutting flesh.
Fossil gut contents are termed
cololites
what is the name for fossilized poop?
Coprolites
