Dietary palaeoecology of an Early Cretaceous armoured dinosaur (Ornithischia; Nodosauridae) based on floral analysis of stomach contents.

ABSTRACT: The exceptionally well-preserved holotype of the armoured dinosaur Borealopelta markmitchelli (Ornithischia; Nodosauridae) from the Early Cretaceous (Clearwater Formation) of northern Alberta preserves a distinct mass within the abdominal cavity. Fourteen independent criteria (including: co-allochthony, anatomical position, gastroliths) support the interpretation of this mass as ingested stomach contents-a cololite. Palynomorphs in the cololite are a subset of the more diverse external sample. Analysis of the cololite documents well-preserved plant material dominated by leaf tissue (88%), including intact sporangia, leaf cross-sections and cuticle, but also including stems, wood and charcoal. The leaf fraction is dominated (85%) by leptosporangiate ferns (subclass Polypodiidae), wit

SUBMITTER: Brown CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7353971 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature