Dental microwear texture analysis reveals behavioural, ecological and habitat signals in Late Jurassic sauropod dinosaur faunas.

ABSTRACT: Most faunas from the Mesozoic era were dominated by sauropod dinosaurs, the largest terrestrial animals to ever exist. These megaherbivores were remarkably diverse and widely distributed. Here we study three Late Jurassic faunas from the USA, Portugal and Tanzania, each approximately 150 million years old, which are known for their extreme sauropod diversity. Whereas general taxonomic composition was similar in these three faunas, the major clades differed in relative abundance. Moreover, their depositional strata record distinct climatic regimes. Using dental microwear texture analysis, we investigated the impact of these climate regimes and the resulting food availability on the different sauropod taxa. Wear patterns in camarasaurid macronarians show minimal variation across different cl

SUBMITTER: Winkler DE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12420387 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature