Specimens That Make Most People Grimace Explain Why Earth Became a “Monster Planet” for Three Geological Eras.
During the “Age of Monsters” on Earth, spanning three geological periods—Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous—dinosaurs as well as pterosaurs in the sky and marine reptiles in the water underwent astonishing evolution in both size and diversity.
They are believed to have first appeared in the middle of the Triassic period, initially small, about the size of a lizard or slightly larger, sharing habitats with many other ancient species.
During the subsequent Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, while many animal groups were continuously replaced due to extinction events, these reptiles thrived, becoming increasingly numerous and larger.
By the end of the Cretaceous period, we had a planet filled with gigantic monsters, featuring massive theropods weighing tens of tons and pterosaurs with wingspans exceeding 10 meters.
The power behind this incredible expansion has recently been revealed through a type of fossil that might make you grimace: Dinosaur Vomit and Feces.
The gigantic skeleton of a theropod (titanosaurus) – (Photo: AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY).
Researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden have searched for these types of fossils at over 500 sites in the Polish Basin, which contain remnants of these monstrous species from the Triassic to the Jurassic periods.
The fossilized vomit and feces—known as regurgitalite and coprolite—can provide a wealth of information, according to evolutionary biologist Martin Qvarnström, a co-author of the study.
This information includes diet, feeding behavior, physiology, and even the parasites living within the bodies of ancient organisms.
Scientists have found everything from tiny beetles to fish, bones, teeth, and well-preserved plant remains.
They even discovered a fragment of a skull from the temnospondyl amphibians.
“No one could have guessed that such massive temnospondyls would attract predators. It’s really easy to break a tooth on such a gigantic skull,” Dr. Qvarnström stated.
Another piece of vomit contained the bones of a small crocodile.
All of this indicates that these ancient monsters were more omnivorous than any creature on modern Earth.
The evolutionary history clearly shows: The less picky a species is, the higher its chances of survival.
For the lineage of prehistoric reptiles, this adaptability allowed them to survive robustly, even during harsh climate changes that led to the extinction of other species.
Being able to eat anything kept them well-fed, enabling them to continue growing larger and expanding further into previously uninhabited territories.
Unfortunately for them—but perhaps fortunate for us—the gigantic monsters of the late Cretaceous ultimately could not withstand the series of catastrophic events triggered by the impact of the Chicxulub asteroid 66 million years ago.
