Eating Flashcards
Why is it important to understand what a dinosaur ate? (i.e. what does it tell us)
tells us how that dinosaur lived and how it fit into a larger ecosystem
Describe the teeth of an herbivore. Why are their teeth shaped this way?
- thin, ridged or “leaf-shaped” for shearing
- broad, flat for grinding
Describe the teeth of a carnivore. Why are their teeth shaped this way?
- sharp, pointed teeth for piercing
- serrations
What are serrations?
small sharp bumps on a tooth that are arranged in a line that usually runs from the tip to the base of the tooth
Why do carnivores have sharp hooked claws?
to hold on to struggling prey
A parrot can be classified as:
a) a frugivore
b) a piscivore
c) an insectivore
d) an omnivore
a) a frugivore
What do frugivores primarily eat?
fruit
What does the beak of a frugivorous bird look like? Why is it shaped this way?
sharp and hooked b/c it needs to rip and tear apart the peels and protective husks of large tropical fruits
What do piscivores primarily eat?
fish
What do the teeth of a piscivorous bird look like? Why are they shaped this way?
- tall, sharp, conical teeth
- NO serrations
- shaped this way b/c these birds need to spear and hold onto slippery fish
Is the jaw of a piscivorous bird long or short? Does it snap shut quickly or slowly
long and snap shut quickly
Describe the beak of a piscivorous bird.
spear-shaped, long, straight, sharp tip
What do insectivores primarily eat?
insects
Why do some insectivores have sharp piercing teeth, but others have weak jaws and reduced teeth (and some don’t even have teeth)?
Some insects have hard chitinous exoskeletons, and some are soft-bodied (can be swallowed whole)
Why do insectivores have large spade-shaped claws and powerful, but short, limbs?
for digging
Explain durophagy.
some carnivores have sharp teeth for puncturing and ripping flesh but ALSO strong rounded teeth that enable them to crack bones
(i.e. the carnivore has both sharp teeth and strong rounded teeth)
What are 3 animals that exhibit durophagy?
hyenas, Tasmanian devils, alligators
What do omnivores eat?
meat and plants
Which of the following are omnivores?
a) bears
b) rats
c) crows
d) pigs
e) humans
f) alligator
g) giraffe
h) turtle
a) bears
b) rats
c) crows
d) pigs
e) humans
h) turtle
TRUE or FALSE: omnivores have specialized teeth and beaks depending on whether they eat more plants or animals.
FALSE: unspecialized beak and teeth that vary
the chewing surfaces of ceratopsians are
a) vertical
b)horizontal
c) downwards
a
the chewing surfaces of hadrosaurs are
a) vertical
b) horizontal
b
true or false - ankylosaurs and sauropods have complicated rows of teeth
false - they have simple teeth
what are two kinds of herbivorous theropods
oviraptorosaurs and ornithomimids
what are gastroliths
they are little stones inside the ribcage found in the skeletons of oviraptorosaurs and ornithomimids
what is the term given to the stone filled digesting organs near the stomach
gastric mill
what is the name of the famous Dromaeosaurs
Velociraptor
what modern day animal do the foot claws of the Dromaeosaurs resemble
modern day cat
briefly describe the Spinosaurs
- name three characteristics
they are a group of theropods; a piscivore (fish eating); have conical and sharp teeth
briefly describe the Alvarezsaurs
- name three characteristics
group of small theropods; a insetivore; have short front limbs and compact hands
which group of theropods have the most powerful bite
T-rex
what is scavenging
refers to the consumption of an already dead animal by a carnivore that did not play a part in killing it
how is durophagy beneficial to scavengers
it allows a carnivore to access nutrients within the bones of a carcass that has already been picked at by other dinosaurs
what is the term given to fossil gut contents
cololites
what are the two species that have cololites which contain fossil plant material
hadrosaurs and ankylosaurs
what group of dinosaur does Sinocalliopteryx belong to
theropods
what modern day animal does the size of the Sinocalliopteryx compare to
wolf
what is the name of the dinosaurs that are the most cololites known from among the theropods
the dromaeosaur called Microraptor
what is a piece of evidence that supports the hypotehsis that spinosaurs were partially piscivorous
a cololite from the Baryonyx included fish bones
what are gastroliths
they are a kind of stomach content that provides information on their diet
what were ceratopsians and hadrosaurs eaten by and how do we know this
the tooth evidence shows that they are eaten by tyrannosaurs
what does coprolites of a tyrannosaurs tell us
they contain large quantities of bone which tells us the tyrannosaurs are durophagous; and the bone from the diet passed completely though the digestive tracts
what is the name of the alvarezasaur that has one large spade shaped claw on each hand
Shuvuuia
true or false - scavenging is the same as durophagy
false
TRUE or FALSE: Like modern sharks and crocodiles, dinosaurs only had one set of teeth throughout their life.
FALSE: like modern sharks and crocodiles, dinosaurs were constantly shedding and growing new teeth
Why does resorption of the root occur when dinosaurs shed their teeth?
dinosaurs chemically break down their teeth and bones so that the minerals and nutrients that compose them can be reused
Which part of the tooth is resorbed and which part of the tooth is shed?
resorbed = root
shed = crown
In what circumstance/scenario do animals/dinosaurs often lose their teeth?
when they are feeding
What is the estimated rate at which the Tyrannosaurus rex replaced each tooth?
every 1.5 to 2 years
Why are dinosaur teeth one of the most common fossils found?
Dinosaurs shed their teeth throughout their life
How can we tell that a tooth was shed and not just ripped out?
a tooth that was shed will be well-worn and lack roots
What can paleontologists identify from discovering many shed teeth nearby a dinosaur skeleton?
they can identify which dinosaur was feeding on the dinosaur skeleton (based on the unique teeth)
TRUE or FALSE: The presence of a theropod’s shed teeth around a dinosaur skeleton can tell us whether or not the theropod actively hunted/killed the dinosaur, or if it was only scavenging on an already-dead dinosaur.
FALSE: the teeth cannot give us this information
TRUE of FALSE: Animals can digest cellulose in their intestines and stomach, without the help of bacteria.
FALSE: animals need bacteria to help them digest cellulose
What are dental batteries?
arrangements of densely packed teeth that collectively form a single, large chewing surface
What are the 2 groups of dinosaurs that evolved dental batteries?
ceratopsians and hadrosaurs
What are 2 hard tissues that make up dinosaur teeth?
enamel (covers outside of the teeth)
dentine (found inside the tooth)
TRUE OR FALSE: After being ground down, the teeth in a dental battery remain simple, uniform, and smooth.
FALSE: each tooth is ground down at a slightly different rate, making the chewing surface UNEVEN, INTRICATE, and ABRASIVE
