This Ancient 'Hell Chicken' Might Be the First Known Fruit-Loving Dinosaur, Revealing a Whole New Cretaceous Lifestyle.
Researchers described Infernogallus jamesi, a small caenagnathid dinosaur whose nearly complete skull shows jaw adaptations for soft food, which they say likely included fleshy fruits from flowering plants.
Researchers have described a new dinosaur, Infernogallus jamesi, a diminutive caenagnathid. Caenagnathids belong to a group of theropods called oviraptorosaurs. In their report, the authors conclude that these theropods were specialised herbivores and that the group originated alongside the rise of fleshy angiosperm fruits, meaning the fruits of flowering plants.
The finding rests on a nearly complete, articulated skull, which the authors describe as the first for the caenagnathid clade. The skull shows drastic changes in how the jaw-closing (adductor) muscles were organized. According to the paper, this arrangement is unique among non-avian theropods, but living parrots that eat fruit arrived at a similar one independently.
The researchers report that these changes allowed extensive oral processing of soft food. The lower jaw moved forward and backward, and ridges and grooves on opposing skull elements met in occlusion. Taken together, they write, this points to a highly specialised herbivorous diet that likely consisted in large part of fleshy angiosperm fruits.
The study addresses a long-running debate. Herbivorous dinosaurs diversified and flowering plants rose during the Late Cretaceous, and each trend is well established, but the link between them has been questioned. The authors note that broad-scale diversity patterns in the two groups do not appear to align closely, and that direct evidence of dinosaur adaptation to diets based on flowering plants had been lacking. They add that fruits increased in size and diversity in step with the radiation of oviraptorosaurs.
The authors are cautious about the scope of the result. They call caenagnathids one of the strongest candidates for angiosperm-based dietary adaptation in dinosaurs. Whether these animals played a role in the Late Cretaceous spread of fruit, which shaped early Cenozoic plant life, remains unclear.
Note: The headline calls this the first known fruit-loving dinosaur. The paper says fleshy fruits likely made up a large part of the diet and calls caenagnathids one of the strongest candidates for such adaptation, not a confirmed first of its kind. The nickname 'Hell Chicken' does not appear on the page.
At a Glance
- The new species is named Infernogallus jamesi and is described as a diminutive caenagnathid oviraptorosaur.
- Its nearly complete, articulated skull is the first for the caenagnathid clade, according to the paper.
- Its jaw muscle arrangement is unique among non-avian theropods but resembles that of living fruit-eating parrots.
- The authors say caenagnathid diets likely consisted in large part of fleshy angiosperm fruits.
Sources
This brief was written by Brightside Report from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Request a correction.