Predatory digging behavior by dinosaurs

Simpson, Edward L.; Hilbert-Wolf, Hannah L.; Wizevich, Michael C.; Tindall, Sarah E.; Fasinski, Ben R.; Storm, Lauren P.; Needle, Mattathias D.

doi:10.1130/g31019.1

Cited by 21 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…This ranges from digging burrows in small ornithischians [30,31] to nest building in sauropods [32] and troodontids [33] and foraging in alvarezsaurids [20]. While the large body size largely rules out the possibility of burrow digging in therizinosaurs, troodontids and dromaeosaurids most probably used their hindlimbs and pedal claws for digging [33,34], as feathering on the forelimbs would have interfered with manus digging [35]. The same can likely be assumed for therizinosaurs and other feathered Maniraptoriformes, such as oviraptorosaurs and ornithomimosaurs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphological and functional diversity in therizinosaur claws and the implications for theropod claw evolution

Lautenschlager

2014

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Therizinosaurs are a group of herbivorous theropod dinosaurs from the Cretaceous of North America and Asia, best known for their iconically large and elongate manual claws. However, among Therizinosauria, ungual morphology is highly variable, reflecting a general trend found in derived theropod dinosaurs (Maniraptoriformes). A combined approach of shape analysis to characterize changes in manual ungual morphology across theropods and finite-element analysis to assess the biomechanical properties of different ungual shapes in therizinosaurs reveals a functional diversity related to ungual morphology. While some therizinosaur taxa used their claws in a generalist fashion, other taxa were functionally adapted to use the claws as grasping hooks during foraging. Results further indicate that maniraptoriform dinosaurs deviated from the plesiomorphic theropod ungual morphology resulting in increased functional diversity. This trend parallels modifications of the cranial skeleton in derived theropods in response to dietary adaptation, suggesting that dietary diversification was a major driver for morphological and functional disparity in theropod evolution.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphological and functional diversity in therizinosaur claws and the implications for theropod claw evolution

Lautenschlager

2014

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…Vertebrate foraging by excavating pits in soils and sediments is not necessarily restricted to these taxa, however. This behavioral strategy, for example, has been attributed to maniraptoran dinosaurs based on trace fossils in the Upper Cretaceous Wahweap Formation of Utah, although these are not conical in geometry (Simpson et al, 2010).…”

Section: Potential Fossil Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

The foraging pits of the nine-banded armadillo, Dasypus novemcinctus (Mammalia: Xenarthra: Dasypodidae), and implications for interpreting conical trace fossils

Platt

2014

Palaeontologia Electronica

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The nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) is a well known burrower, but individuals spend the majority of their time above ground foraging for soil organisms by repeatedly digging pits through the soil surface. Little ichnological attention has been given to these foraging pits even though their great prevalence within the geographic range of extant armadillos implies that they might have a trace fossil record in paleosols extending back to at least the Paleocene. This research describes the foraging pits constructed by D. novemcinctus with implications for recognition and interpretation of similar conical trace fossils. Field observations yielded an association between one large-diameter (41 cm wide) dwelling burrow, three relatively short, straight shelter burrows (up to 19 cm wide and 38 cm long), and abundant variously sized foraging pits (up to 18 cm wide and 14.5 cm deep). Plaster casts of foraging pits showed that most were asymmetrical, vertically oriented, downward-tapering elliptical cones (width>depth), with smooth to coarsely dimpled walls and common elongate, parallel grooves, isolated curved grooves, and distinct paired grooves, resulting from scratching with the elongated middle two digits of the forelimb. Digital models of plaster casts are used to quantify several aspects, including a new property, conicality. Relative compactness and volume exploited indicate that surface pits are more efficient for soil foraging than subterranean burrows. Recognition of fossil armadillo foraging pits would enable paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic interpretations analogous to the habitats and ranges of extant armadillos. Conical trace fossils in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation are potential examples of ancient vertebrate foraging pits, although they are not attributable to armadillos because of their age.

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“…Al though not com monly ac knowl edged, the pres ence of dig ging be hav iour or dig ging ad ap ta tions was sug gested for dif fer ent di no saur taxa based on func tional morphol ogy and at trib uted trace fos sils. In many in stances, ad mittedly, these dig ging ad ap ta tions were re lated not to bur row ing, but in stead to other be hav ioural traits such as scratch-dig ging used in feed ing, as was ad vo cated in the case of cer tain alvarezsaurids (Senter, 2005) and paravialans (Simpson et al, 2010), or in re pro duc tion, as in the case of nest-dig ging ac tiv ities re ported for hadrosaurs (e.g., Hor ner, 1982) or ti tano saurs (e.g., Vila et al, 2010); nev er the less, true bur row ing habit has been also sug gested pre lim i nar ily by Bakker (1996) for the Late Ju ras sic basal ornithopod Drinker.…”

Section: Interpretation and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hettangian tetrapod burrows from the continental Steierdorf Formation at Anina, western Romania

Csiki-Sava

Kędzior

Pieńkowski

et al. 2016

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Predatory digging behavior by dinosaurs

Cited by 21 publications

References 31 publications

Morphological and functional diversity in therizinosaur claws and the implications for theropod claw evolution

Morphological and functional diversity in therizinosaur claws and the implications for theropod claw evolution

The foraging pits of the nine-banded armadillo, Dasypus novemcinctus (Mammalia: Xenarthra: Dasypodidae), and implications for interpreting conical trace fossils

Hettangian tetrapod burrows from the continental Steierdorf Formation at Anina, western Romania

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