Dino-era diet debate: Chinese pterosaur fossil rewrites menu of ancient flying reptile
China-Brazil study of rare fossilised reptile stomach reveals first evidence that ancient winged creatures enjoyed munching on plants
The rare find sheds light on the mysterious diets of the creatures that ruled the skies before birds and renews a contentious debate among palaeontologists.
“We report the first evidence of stomach contents of a pterodactyloid pterosaur,” the team said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Bulletin on July 1.
The fossil of the Sinopterus atavismus – a species of pterosaur – was found in northeastern China. Its stomach was found to contain phytoliths, a rigid, microscopic mineral deposit that forms in some plants, as well as small quartz crystals possibly swallowed to aid digestion, the team said.
Quartz is commonly present in gastroliths – or mineralised “stomach stones” that many living animals, including birds and lizards, keep in their gizzards or stomachs to help grind up tough foods like plants.
“The first occurrence of phytoliths, associated with gastroliths, in the stomach contents confirms the herbivory of Sinopterus. It is the first time that such structures have been discovered in pterosaurs.”