Dinosaur Diet

• Most fossils that we have found are formed from the teeth, bones or other hard body parts of animals (we only occasionally find fossils of soft body parts such as skin, feathers, or internal organs). From such fossils, scientists can figure out an awful lot about an animal. They can for example, work out whether it was a fast-runner or slow-moving, whether its teeth were designed from grinding up tough vegetation or for slicing for meat, or whether it was capable of reaching the tops of tall trees or only low-lying vegetation.
  
  Of course, it is not always easy to interpret evidence from fossilized teeth and bones, and it may take many years for a scientific consensus to emerge. That is why, for example, there is still debate among scientists about whether Tyrannosaurus rex was an active predator (hunting and killing prey animals itself), or was a scavenger that fed upon the carcasses of animals killed by others.
  
  
• Sometimes, when we are very lucky, we can learn about dinosaurs' diets and lifestyles directly from fossils:
  
  
  • Scientists have sometimes found fossilized dinosaur bones, complete with fossilized stomach contents. We know for example that Baryonyx was a fish-eater, and that Coelophysis probably engaged in cannibalism, because of the stomach contents that have been found.
    
    
  • Scientists have found fossils of dinosaur dung ("coprolites"). By examining these, they can often learn more about what dinosaurs ate.
    
    
  • Sometimes fossilized bones can give us information directly. For example, the discovery of Triceratops which seems to have survived, and subsequently healed from, a Tyrannosaurus rex attack, suggests that Tyrannosaurus rex must have been actively hunting the animal, rather than just scavenging.

Carnivornes (Meat-Eaters)	Herbivores (Plant-Eaters)	Omnivores (Ate Meat and Plants)
Acrocanthosaurus   Adasaurus   Afrovenator   Albertosaurus   Alectrosaurus   Alioramus   Allosaurus   Anchiornis   Aucasaurus   Bambiraptor   Baryonyx   Buitreraptor   Carcharodontosaurus   Carnotaurus   Ceratosaurus   Coelophysis   Coelurus   Compsognathus   Cryolophosaurus   Deinonychus   Dilong   Dilophosaurus   Dromaeosaurus   Eotyrannus   Epidexipteryx   Giganotosaurus   Gorgosaurus   Guanlong   Herrerasaurus   Majungasaurus   Megalosaurus   Microraptor   Rajasaurus   Rugops   Saltopus   Scipionyx   Sinornithoides   Sinosauropteryx   Spinosaurus   Staurikosaurus   Suchomimus   Tarbosaurus   Torvosaurus   Troodon   Tyrannosaurus rex   Utahraptor   Velociraptor   Xiongguanlong   Yangchuanosaurus	Achelousaurus   Agujaceratops   Alamosaurus   Altirhinus   Alxasaurus   Ampelosaurus   Anchiceratops   Animantarx   Ankylosaurus   Apatosaurus (Brontosaurus) Argentinosaurus   Avaceratops   Bactrosaurus   Brachiosaurus   Camarasaurus   Camptosaurus   Centrosaurus   Cetiosaurus   Chasmosaurus   Corythosaurus   Diabloceratops   Diplodocus   Echinodon   Edmontonia   Edmontosaurus   Eotriceratops   Euoplocephalus (Scolosaurus) Gastonia   Gigantspinosaurus   Giraffatitan   Hadrosaurus   Heterodontosaurus   Hypsilophodon   Iguanodon   Kentrosaurus   Kritosaurus   Lambeosaurus   Lesothosaurus   Magyarosaurus   Maiasaura   Mamenchisaurus   Massospondylus   Melanorosaurus   Minmi   Monoclonius   Mussaurus   Muttaburrasaurus   Nanyangosaurus   Nemegtosaurus   Nigersaurus   Nipponosaurus   Nodosaurus   Ouranosaurus   Pachycephalosaurus   Pachyrhinosaurus   Panoplosaurus   Paralititan   Parasaurolophus   Pentaceratops   Pinacosaurus   Pisanosaurus   Plateosaurus   Prenocephale   Protoceratops   Psittacosaurus   Riojasaurus   Saichania   Saltasaurus   Saurolophus   Scutellosaurus   Seismosaurus   Stegoceras   Stegosaurus   Styracosaurus   Supersaurus (Ultrasauros) Talarurus   Tarchia   Torosaurus   Trachodon   Triceratops   Tuojiangosaurus   Ultrasaurus   Unaysaurus   Zalmoxes   Zuniceratops	Abrictosaurus   Avimimus   Caudipteryx   Chirostenotes   Dromiceiomimus   Gallimimus   Nomingia   Ornithomimus   Oviraptor   Pelecanimimus   Protarchaeopteryx   Sinovenator   Struthiomimus

Related Information & Resources

• Dinosaur Facts

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