Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T07:24:25.522Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Fossil Record of Predation in Dinosaurs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 July 2017

James O. Farlow
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, Indiana-Purdue University Fort Wayne, 2101 Coliseum Boulevard, East, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46805 USA
Thomas R. Holtz Jr.
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 USA
Get access

Abstract

Predatory theropod dinosaurs can usually be identified as such by features of their jaws, teeth, and postcrania, but different clades of these reptiles differed in their adaptations for prey handling. Inferences about theropod diets and hunting behavior based on functional morphology are sometimes supported by evidence from taphonomic associations with likely prey species, bite marks, gut contents, coprolites, and trackways. Very large theropods like Tyrannosaurus are unlikely to have been pure hunters or scavengers, and probably ate whatever meat they could easily obtain, dead or alive. Theropods were not the only dinosaur hunters, though; other kinds of large reptiles undoubtedly fed on dinosaurs as well The taxonomic composition of dinosaurian predator-prey complexes varies as a function of time and geography, but an ecologically remarkable feature of dinosaurian faunas, as compared with terrestrial mammalian faunas, is the very large size commonly attained by both herbivorous and carnivorous dinosaurs. The K/T extinction event(s) did not end dinosaurian predation, because carnivorous birds remained prominent predators throughout the Cenozoic Era.

Type
Section II: Patterns
Copyright
Copyright © 2002 by The Paleontological Society 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abler, W. L. 1997. Tooth serrations in carnivorous dinosaurs, p. 740743. In Currie, P. J. and Padian, K. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. Academic Press, San Diego.Google Scholar
Andrews, C. W. 1901. On the extinct birds of Patagonia—I: The skull and skeleton of Phororhacos inflatus Ameghino. Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, 15:5586.Google Scholar
Bakker, R. T., Williams, M., and Currie, P. J. 1988. Nanotyrannus, a new genus of pygmy tyrannosaur, from the latest Cretaceous of Montana. Hunteria, 1(5):130.Google Scholar
Barrett, P. M. 2000. Prosauropod dinosaurs and iguanas: Speculations on the diets of extinct reptiles, p. 4278. In Sues, H.-D. (ed.), Evolution of Herbivory in Terrestrial Vertebrates: Perspectives from the Fossil Record. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K. Google Scholar
Barsbold, R., Osmólska, H., and Kurzanov, S. M. 1987. On a new troodontid (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 32:121132.Google Scholar
Bird, R. T. 1985. Bones for Barnum Brown: Adventures of a Dinosaur Hunter. Texas Christian University Press, Fort Worth, TX, 225 p.Google Scholar
Bonaparte, J. F., and Powell, J. E. 1980. A continental assemblage of tetrapods from the Upper Cretaceous beds of El Brete, northwestern Argentina (Sauropoda-Coelurosauria-Carnosauria-Aves). Memoires de la Société Geologique de France, N.S., 139:1928.Google Scholar
Bonaparte, J. F., Novas, F. E., and Coria, R. A. 1990. Carnotaurus sastrei Bonaparte, the horned, lightly built carnosaur from the Middle Cretaceous of Patagonia. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Contributions in Science, 416:141.Google Scholar
Brochu, C. A. 2000. A digitally-rendered endocast for Tyrannosaurus rex. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 20:16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, J. H. 1995. Macroecology. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 269 p.Google Scholar
Brown, J. H., and West, G. B. (eds.). 2000. Scaling in Biology. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K., 352 p.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burness, G. P., Diamond, J., and Flannery, T. 2001. Dinosaurs, dragons, and dwarfs: The evolution of maximal body size. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA, 98:1451814523.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Calder, W. A. 2000. Diversity and convergence: Scaling for conservation, p. 297323. In Brown, J. H. and West, G. B. (eds.), Scaling in Biology. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. Google Scholar
Carpenter, K. 2000. Evidence of predatory behavior by carnivorous dinosaurs. Gaia, 15:135144.Google Scholar
Carpenter, K., and Smith, M. 2001. Forelimb osteology and biomechanics of Tyrannosaurus rex , p. 90116. In Tanke, D. H. and Carpenter, K. (eds.), Mesozoic Vertebrate Life. Indiana University Press, Bloomington.Google Scholar
Carrano, M., and Janis, C. 1991. Scaling of reproductive turnover in archosaurs and mammals: Why are large terrestrial mammals so rare? Annales Zoologici Fennici, 28:201216.Google Scholar
Charig, A. J., and Milner, A. C. 1997. Baryonyx walkeri, a fish-eating dinosaur from the Wealden of Surrey. Bulletin of the Natural History Museum, 53:1170.Google Scholar
Chen, P., Dong, Z., and Zhen, S. 1998. An exceptionally well-preserved theropod dinosaur from the Yixian Formation of China. Nature, 391:147152.Google Scholar
Chin, K. 1997. What did dinosaurs eat? Coprolites and other direct evidence of dinosaur diets, pp. 371382. In Farlow, J. O. and Brett-Surman, M. K. (eds.), The Complete Dinosaur. Indiana University Press, Bloomington.Google Scholar
Chin, K., and Gill, B. D. 1996. Dinosaurs, dung beetles, and conifers: participants in a Cretaceous food web. Palaios, 11:280285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chin, K., and Kirkland, J. I. 1998. Probable herbivore coprolites from the Upper Jurassic Mygatt-Moore Quarry, western Colorado. Modern Geology, 23:249275.Google Scholar
Chin, K., Tokaryk, T. T., Erickson, G. M., and Calk, L. C. 1998. A king-sized theropod coprolite. Nature, 393:680682.Google Scholar
Christiansen, P. 1999. Long bone scaling and limb posture in non-avian theropods: evidence for differential allometry. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 19:666680.Google Scholar
Chure, D. J., Fiorillo, A. R., and Jacobsen, A. 2000. Prey bone utilization by predatory dinosaurs in the Late Jurassic of North America, with comments on prey bone use by dinosaurs throughout the Mesozoic. Gaia, 15:227232.Google Scholar
Colbert, E. H. 1978. The Triassic dinosaur Coelophysis. Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin 57, 160 p.Google Scholar
Coombs, W. P. Jr. 1990. Behavior patterns of dinosaurs, p. 3242. In Weishampel, D. B., Dodson, P., and Osmólska, H. (eds.), The Dinosauria. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.Google Scholar
Currie, P. J. 1983. Hadrosaur trackways from the Lower Cretaceous of Canada. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 28:6373.Google Scholar
Currie, P. J., and Chen, P. 2001. Anatomy of Sinosauropteryx prima from Liaoning, northeastern China. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 38:17051727.Google Scholar
Currie, P. J., and Jacobsen, A. R. 1995. An azhdarchid pterosaur eaten by a velociraptorine theropod. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 32:922925.Google Scholar
Damuth, J. 1987. Interspecific allometry of population density in mammals and other animals: The independence of body mass and population energy-use. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 31:193246.Google Scholar
Day, J. J., Upchurch, P., Norman, D. B., Gale, A. S., and Philip Powell, H. 2002. Sauropod trackways, evolution, and behavior. Science, 296:1659.Google Scholar
Dusenberry, D. B. 1992. Sensory Ecology: How Organisms Acquire and Respond to Information. Freeman, New York, 558 p.Google Scholar
Eberth, D. A., Currie, P. J., Brinkman, D. B., Ryan, M. J., Braman, D. R., Gardner, J. D., Lam, V. D., Spivak, D. N., and Neuman, A. G. 2001. Alberta's dinosaurs and other fossil vertebrates: Judith River and Edmonton Groups (Campanian-Maastrichtian), p. 4975. In Hill, C. L. (ed.), Guidebook for the Field Trips, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 61st Annual Meeting, Museum of the Rockies Occasional Paper 3, Bozeman, MT.Google Scholar
Erickson, G. M., and Olson, K. H. 1996. Bite marks attributable to Tyrannosaurus rex: preliminary description and implications. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 16:175178.Google Scholar
Erickson, G. M., Van Kirk, S. D., Su, J., Levenston, M. E., Caler, W. E., and Carter, D. R. 1996. Bite force estimation for Tyrannosaurus rex from tooth-marked bones. Nature, 382:706708.Google Scholar
Farlow, J. O. 1976. Speculations about the diet and foraging behavior of large carnivorous dinosaurs. American Midland Naturalist, 95:186191.Google Scholar
Farlow, J. O. 1987. Lower Cretaceous Dinosaur Tracks, Paluxy River Valley, Texas. South-Central Section, Geological Society of America, Baylor University, Waco, TX, 50 p.Google Scholar
Farlow, J. O. 1993. On the rareness of big, fierce animals: Speculations about the body sizes, population densities, and geographic ranges of predatory mammals and large carnivorous dinosaurs. American Journal of Science, 293-A:167199.Google Scholar
Farlow, J. O. 1994. Speculations about the carrion-locating ability of tyrannosaurs. Historical Biology, 7:159165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farlow, J. O. 1997. Trophic groups, p. 755758. In Currie, P. J. and Padian, K. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. Academic Press, San Diego.Google Scholar
Farlow, J. O. 2000. Tracking dinosaur society, p. 232241. In Paul, G. S. (ed.), The Scientific American Book of Dinosaurs. St. Martin's Press, New York.Google Scholar
Farlow, J. O. 2001. Acrocanthosaurus and the maker of Comanchean large-theropod footprints, p. 408427. In Tanke, D. H. and Carpenter, K. (eds.), Mesozoic Vertebrate Life. Indiana University Press, Bloomington.Google Scholar
Farlow, J. O., and Brinkman, D. L. 1994. Wear surfaces on the teeth of tyrannosaurs, p. 165175. In Rosenberg, G. D. and Wolberg, D. L. (eds.), Dino Fest. Paleontological Society Special Publication 7, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.Google Scholar
Farlow, J. O., Dodson, P., and Chinsamy, A. 1995a. Dinosaur biology. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 26:445471.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farlow, J. O., Smith, M. B., and Robinson, J. M. 1995b. Body mass, bone “strength indicator,” and cursorial potential of Tyrannosaurus rex. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 15:713725.Google Scholar
Farlow, J. O., Brinkman, D. L., Abler, W. L., and Currie, P. J. 1991. Size, shape, and serration density of theropod dinosaur lateral teeth. Modern Geology, 16:161198.Google Scholar
Farlow, J. O., Gatesy, S. M., Holtz, T. R. Jr., Hutchinson, J. R., and Robinson, J. M. 2000. Theropod locomotion. American Zoologist, 40:640663.Google Scholar
Fiorillo, A. R. 1991. Prey bone utilization by predatory dinosaurs. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 88:157166.Google Scholar
Forster, C. A., Sampson, S. D., Chiappe, L. M., and Krause, D. W. 1998. The theropod ancestry of birds: new evidence from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. Science, 279:19151919.Google Scholar
Gatesy, S. M. 1991. Hind limb scaling in birds and other theropods: implications for terrestrial locomotion. Journal of Morphology, 209:8396.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gauthier, J., and Gall, L. F. (eds.). 2001. New Perspectives on the Origin and Early Evolution of Birds. Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT.Google Scholar
Gilmore, C. W. 1920. Osteology of the carnivorous Dinosauria in the United States National Museum, with special reference to the genera Antrodemus (Allosaurus) and Ceratosaurus. Bulletin of the United States National Museum, 110:1154.Google Scholar
Heckert, A. B., and Lucas, S. G. 1998. Global correlation of the Triassic theropod record. Gaia, 15:6374.Google Scholar
Henderson, D. M. 2000. Skull and tooth morphology as indicators of niche partitioning in sympatric Morrison Formation theropods. Gaia, 15:219226.Google Scholar
Holtz, T. R. Jr. 1995. The arctometatarsalian pes, an unusual structure of the metatarsus of Cretaceous Theropoda (Dinosauria: Saurischia). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 14:480519.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holtz, T. R. Jr. 2000. A new phylogeny of carnivorous dinosaurs. Gaia, 15:561.Google Scholar
Holtz, T. R. Jr., Brinkman, D. L., and Chandler, C. L. 2000. Denticle morphometrics and a possibly omnivorous feeding habit for the theropod dinosaur Troodon. Gaia, 15:159166.Google Scholar
Hopson, J. A. 2001. Ecomorphology of avian and nonavian theropod phalangeal proportions: implications for the arboreal versus terrestrial origin of bird flight, p. 211235. In Gauthier, J. and Gall, L. F. (eds.), New Perspectives on the Origin and Early Evolution of Birds. Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University New Haven, CT.Google Scholar
Horner, J. R. 1994. Steak knives, beady eyes, and tiny little arms (a portrait of 71 rex as a scavenger), p. 157164. In Rosenberg, G. D. and Wolberg, D. L. (eds.), Dino Fest. Paleontological Society Special Publication 7, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.Google Scholar
Horner, J. R. 1997. Behavior, p. 4550. In Currie, P. J. and Padian, K. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.Google Scholar
Horner, J. R., and Dobb, E. 1997. Dinosaur Lives: Unearthing an Evolutionary Saga. Harcourt Brace and Company, San Diego, CA, 244 p.Google Scholar
Horner, J. R., and Lessem, D. The Complete T. rex: How Stunning New Discoveries Are Changing Our Understanding of the World's Most Famous Dinosaur. Simon and Schuster, New York, 244 p.Google Scholar
Hungerbühler, A. 2000. Taphonomy of the prosauropod dinosaur Sellosaurus, and its implications for carnivore faunas and feeding habits in the Late Triassic. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 143:129.Google Scholar
Hunt, A. P., Lucas, S. G., Heckert, A. B., Sullivan, R. M., and Lockley, M. G. 1998. Late Triassic dinosaurs from the western United States. Geobios, 31:511531.Google Scholar
Hunt, A. P., Meyer, C. A., Lockley, M. G., and Lucas, S. G. 1994. Archaeology, toothmarks and sauropod dinosaur taphonomy. Gaia, 10:225231.Google Scholar
Hurum, J. M., and Currie, P. J. 2000. The crushing bite of tyrannosaurids. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 20:619621.Google Scholar
Hutchinson, J. R., and Garcia, M. 2002. Tyrannosaurus was not a fast runner. Nature, 415:10181021.Google Scholar
Jacobsen, A. R. 1997. Tooth marks, p. 738739. In Currie, P. J. and Padian, K. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. Academic Press, San Diego.Google Scholar
Jacobsen, A. R. 1998. Feeding behavior of carnivorous dinosaurs as determined by tooth marks on dinosaur bones. Historical Biology, 13:1726.Google Scholar
Jacobsen, A. R. 2001. Tooth-marked small theropod bone: an extremely rare trace, p. 5863. In Tanke, D. H. and Carpenter, K. (eds.), Mesozoic Vertebrate Life. Indiana University Press, Bloomington.Google Scholar
Jacobsen, A. R., and Ryan, M. J. 1999. Taphonomic aspects of theropod tooth-marked bones from an Edmontosaurus bone bed (Lower Maastrichtian, Alberta, Canada). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 19(3):55A.Google Scholar
Kelt, D. A., and Van Vuren, D. H. 2001. The ecology and macroecology of mammalian home range area. American Naturalist, 157:637645.Google Scholar
Kirkland, J. I. 1994. Predation of dinosaur nests by terrestrial crocodilians, p. 124133. In Carpenter, K., Hirsch, K. F., and Horner, J. R. (eds.), Dinosaur Eggs and Babies. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K. Google Scholar
Lockley, M. G. 1991. Tracking Dinosaurs: A New Look at an Ancient World. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K., 238 p.Google Scholar
Lockley, M. G., and Hunt, A. P. 1995. Dinosaur Tracks and Other Fossil Footprints of the Western United States. Columbia University Press, New York, 338 p.Google Scholar
Lockley, M. G., and Meyer, C. 2000. Dinosaur Tracks and Other Fossil Footprints of Europe. Columbia University Press, New York, 323 p.Google Scholar
Lockley, M. G., Houck, K. J., and Prince, N. K. 1986. North America's largest dinosaur trackway site: implications for Morrison Formation paleoecology. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 97:11631176.Google Scholar
Maxwell, W. D., and Ostrom, J. H. 1995. Taphonomy and paleobiological implications of Tenontosaurus-Deinonychus associations. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 15:707712.Google Scholar
Middleton, K. M., and Gatesy, S. M. 2000. Theropod forelimb design and evolution. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 128:149197.Google Scholar
Molnar, R. E. 2000. Mechanical factors in the design of the skull of Tyrannosaurus rex (Osborn, 1905). Gaia, 15:193218.Google Scholar
Naish, D., Hutt, S., and Martill, D. M. 2001. Saurischian dinosaurs 2: Theropods, p. 242309. In Martill, D. M. and Naish, D. (eds.), Dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight. Palaeontological Association Field Guide to Fossils 10, London.Google Scholar
Norell, M. A., Makovicky, P. J., and Currie, P. J. 2001. The beaks of ostrich dinosaurs. Nature, 412:873874.Google Scholar
Ostrom, J. H. 1969. Osteology of Deinonychus antirrhopus, an unusual theropod from the Lower Cretaceous of Montana. Peabody Museum of Natural History Bulletin 30, Yale University, 165 p.Google Scholar
Ostrom, J. H. 1972. Were some dinosaurs gregarious? Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 11:287309.Google Scholar
Ostrom, J. H. 1978. The osteology of Compsognathus longipes Wagner. Zitteliana, 4:73118.Google Scholar
Ostrom, J. H. 1986. Social and unsocial behavior in dinosaurs, p. 4161. In Nitecki, M. H. and Kitchell, J. A. (eds.), Evolution of Animal Behavior. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. Google Scholar
Parrish, J. M. 1993. Distribution and taxonomic composition of fossil vertebrate accumulations in the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation, Petrified Forest National Park, p. 393396. In Lucas, S. G. and Morales, M. (eds.), The Nonmarine Triassic, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 3, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Paul, G. S. 1988. Predatory Dinosaurs of the World: A Complete Illustrated Guide. Simon and Schuster, New York, 464 p.Google Scholar
Rayfield, E. J., Norman, D. B., Horner, C. C., Horner, J. R., Smith, P. M., Thomason, J. J., and Upchurch, P. 2001. Cranial design and function in a large theropod dinosaur. Nature, 409:10331037.Google Scholar
Reisz, R. R., and Sues, H.-D. 2000. Herbivory in late Paleozoic and Triassic terrestrial vertebrates, p. 941. In Sues, H.-D. (ed.), Evolution of Herbivory in Terrestrial Vertebrates: Perspectives from the Fossil Record. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K. Google Scholar
Rogers, R. R., Swisher, C. C. III, Sereno, P. C., Monetta, A. M., Forster, C. A., and Martínez, R. N. 1993. The Ischigualasto tetrapod assemblage (Late Triassic, Argentina) and 40A/39A dating of dinosaur origins. Science, 260:794797.Google Scholar
Russell, D. A. 1997. Therezinosauria, p. 729730. In Currie, P. J. and Padian, K. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. Academic Press, San Diego.Google Scholar
Ryan, M. J., and Vickaryous, M. K. 1997. Diet, p. 169174. In Currie, P. J. and Padian, K. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. Academic Press, San Diego.Google Scholar
Sander, P. M. 1997. Teeth and jaws, p. 717725. In Currie, P. J. and Padian, K. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. Academic Press, San Diego.Google Scholar
Schwimmer, D. R. 2002. King of the Crocodylians: The Paleobiology of Deinosuchus. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 220 p.Google Scholar
Sereno, P. C. 1993. The pectoral girdle and forelimb of the basal theropod Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 13:425450.Google Scholar
Sereno, P. C. 1999. The evolution of dinosaurs. Science, 284:21372147.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sereno, P. C., and Novas, F. E. 1993. The skull and neck of the basal theropod Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 13:451476.Google Scholar
Sereno, P. C., Larsson, H. C. E., Sidor, C. A., and Gado, B. 2001. The giant crocodyliform Sarcosuchus from the Cretaceous of Africa. Science, 294:15161519.Google Scholar
Smallwood, K. S. 2001. The allometry of density within the space used by populations of mammalian Carnivora. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 79:16341640.Google Scholar
Thomas, D. A., and Farlow, J. O. 1997. Tracking a dinosaur attack. Scientific American, 277(6):7479.Google Scholar
Thulborn, R. A., and Wade, M. 1984. Dinosaur trackways in the Winton Formation (Mid-Cretaceous) of Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, 21:413517.Google Scholar
Thulborn, T. 1990. Dinosaur Tracks. Chapman and Hall, London, 410 p.Google Scholar
Upchurch, P., and Barrett, P. M. 2000. The evolution of sauropod feeding mechanisms, p. 79122. In Sues, H.-D. (ed.), Evolution of Herbivory in Terrestrial Vertebrates: Perspectives from the Fossil Record. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K. Google Scholar
Varricchio, D. J. 2001. Gut contents from a Cretaceous tyrannosaurid: implications for theropod dinosaur digestive tracts. Journal of Paleontology, 75:401406.Google Scholar
Walls, G. L. 1942. The Vertebrate Eye and Its Adaptive Radiation. Cranbrook Institute of Science Bulletin 19, Bloomfield Hills, MI, 785 p.Google Scholar
Witmer, L. M., and Rose, K. D. 1991. Biomechanics of the jaw apparatus of the gigantic Eocene bird Diatryma: implications for diet and mode of life. Paleobiology, 17:95120.Google Scholar
Worthy, T. H., and Holdaway, R. N. 2002. The Lost World of the Moa: Prehistoric Life of New Zealand. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 720 p.Google Scholar