Dietary insights of the phytophagous dinosaurs from the late Cretaceous Ibero-Armorican island
Keywords:
Microwear, Titanosauria, Lambeosaurinae, Maastrichtian, Europe.Abstract
This study presents the preliminary results of an active investigation on
the diets and ecological dynamics of the main groups of megaherbivorous
dinosaurs (Lambeosaurinae, Titanosauria) of the Upper Cretaceous of what
was the island of Ibero-Armorica (SW of Europe). The chewing mechanics
and dietary preferences of different dinosaurs from the Spanish and French
Pyrenees have been interpreted by characterizing a sample of teeth and
comparing their microwear. The results of this analysis show that lambeosaurines
from the Basturs Poble and L’Espinau sites share similar dietary
preferences and processing methods, being generalists and feeding at low
altitudes on relatively tender vegetation. Conversely, the French lambeosaurine
Canardia garonnensis would selectively feed on harder vegetation. The
titanosaur of Els Nerets would be a generalist that would feed on tender vegetation
at a medium-high height. These results indicate a potential partition
of the ecological niche and the co-existence between both groups during
the Lower Maastrichtian.
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