The diverseness of terrifying marrow - eating dinosaur may be a joyfulness for the shaper of theJurassic Parkfilms , but it poses a challenge for paleontologists to explain . There appear to have been too many carnivorous dinosaurs for the useable quarry . However , a subject field of the jaws of theropod dinosaur provides an answer , indicating they cut down on competition by adopt different diets .
It stands to reason that creature ca n’t yield to outgrow their food supply . Even when the largest creatures ever to cast the Earth served as dinner , the world could only support a certain routine of carnivores . Moreover , rather than the gist - eaters coming from a large number of specie , we ’d expect a few to dominate , as is the case at the top of the solid food chain today .
Yet the fogy criminal record reveals a wide salmagundi of theropod dinosaur , from the famousTyrannosaurus rextovelociraptors , which in tangible life were the size of turkeys . Many of these occurred in different places and times from each other , but some fossil deposit still unveil more meat - eaters than we would expect .
Joep Schaeffer , a lord student at Bristol University , find an account for this discrepancy while studying the jaw of 83 mintage of theropod dinosaur . The mouthparts of these dinosaurs were different from each other , advise they were not feeding on the same prey . It ’s not surprisingT. rexand something as big as a andiron were not use up the same meals , but Schaeffer found wide edition in the mouthparts of even the intermediate and small dinosaur .
For the study inPalaeontology , Schaeffer collected 78 measurements of jaw and tooth characteristics for each theropod species and used three different proficiency to break down the information . He ascertain each method acting produced fairly similar results in categorizing the jaw .
Schaeffer then divide the theropods into three distinct category . The tyrannosaurs settled on a common shape of cryptical jaw and sinewy dentition , apparently engineered for eating small dinosaur that needed stamp down . All member species of this clade jolly much stuck to the script .
On the other hand , the maniraptoriforms , the closest relatives to modern birds , ate much more varied diets . “ The maniraptoriforms were experimenting with a across-the-board range of minuscule prey , maybe from small dinosaur to early mammal and lounge lizard … even some large , juicy worm , ” Schaeffer allege in astatement .
Some went so far as to diversify their dieting into plant , becoming omnivorous or even rigorously herbivorous . Even some of those still use up meat adapted their mouths to capturing fast - moving quarry , maybe include Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree - brood species . With so many dietary niches to occupy , it give sentience more species would evolve . Although the maniraptoriforms were the master of this , other branches of the theropod family also diversified to expound potential diets – only the tyrannosaurs stuck to a individual framework .
