The newly described species, *Infernogallus jamesi*, measured roughly 5 feet in length and weighed approximately 25 pounds within a subtropical coastal floodplain. Unlike other herbivorous theropods that relied on swallowed stones to grind plant matter, this animal utilized a sliding jaw joint and beak ridges to chew food. Its specialized jaw musculature enabled a shearing, back-and-forth motion perfectly adapted for mashing berries and drupes. Although the unearthed fossil specimens lacked preserved plumage, scientists deduce the creature was feathered based on its close relatives.
Key points
The species represents the first definitive physical proof that dinosaurs incorporated fr…: The species represents the first definitive physical proof that dinosaurs incorporated fruit into their diets.
Unique chewing adaptations set this theropod apart from herbivorous relatives that relied…: Unique chewing adaptations set this theropod apart from herbivorous relatives that relied on ingested stones.
The findings reveal that theropods diversified their ecological niches to exploit food so…: The findings reveal that theropods diversified their ecological niches to exploit food sources from flowering plants.
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WASHINGTON, Oct 30 : While dinosaurs ate a lot of different things, including each other, fruit long seemed to have been absent from their menu. But scientists now have found fossils of a turkey-sized and toothless dinosaur possessing a parrot-like head that exhibited multiple adaptations for a specialized fruit diet.
This first-known frugivorous dinosaur, named Infernogallus jamesi, lived about 66 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period at the twilight of the age of dinosaurs and displayed traits on its beak and jaws for mashing soft food like fruit. It is known from fossils unearthed in Montana and North Dakota.
The name Infernogallus means "hell chicken," a nod to its bird-like appearance and the fact that its fossils were found in the Hell Creek rock formation, which spans the US states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming and has yielded the remains of some of the most famous dinosaurs.
It would have eaten fruit and other soft plants in the subtropical coastal floodplain ecosystem it shared with the likes of apex predator Tyrannosaurus, three-horned herbivore Triceratops and tank-like…
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