In an article published in the journal “Nature”, a team of scientists from Poland and Sweden analyzed over 500 coprolites and other fossils containing food remnants to reconstruct trophic networks from approximately 200 million years ago. The research focused on the Polish Basin, encompassing areas of Silesia and the Holly Cross Mountains.
Among the authors of the publication were Dr. Zuzanna Wawrzyniak and Prof. Leszek Marynowski from the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Silesia in Katowice. Their contribution included paleobotanical and geochemical analyses, which facilitated a deeper understanding of vegetation changes and environmental conditions of that era. The research revealed that climate changes and vegetation transformations during the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic created conditions favorable for the gradual occupation of ecological niches by dinosaurs. Initially, these were small, omnivorous organisms, which eventually evolved into gigantic herbivorous and carnivorous forms. The analysis of fossilized food content, such as remnants of fish, insects, and plants, reflected these transformations in ecosystems. These discoveries shed new light on the processes that led to the formation of complex ecosystems dominated by dinosaurs, opening new perspectives in research on their evolution and adaptation to changing environmental conditions.
You will be able to learn more about this topic during a meeting of the Student Scientific Association of Paleontologists “Paradoxides,” which will take place on Thursday, January 30, 2025, at 5:00 PM in room 809 at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia (60 Będzińska Street, Sosnowiec)
Reference: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08265-4
Note Author: MJM
Fig. 1 Feeding evidence inferred from bite marks and synchrotron-scanned bromalites from Krasiejów, Lisowice and Sołtyków (see more details in the article).