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Dinosaurs in India may have fed on grass
newkerala.com ^ | Nov 18

Posted on 11/18/2005 1:24:59 PM PST by glow-worm005

Washington, Nov 18 : Fossilized dinosaur droppings found in central India show sauropod dinosaurs may have fed on grass between 65 million and 71 million years ago, refuting the theory that grasses emerged long after the dinosaur era, a study said Friday.

An international team of researchers, including Vandana Prasad of the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany in Lucknow, India, studied the dinosaur coprolites, or fossilized droppings, of 65 million years ago.

The researchers sent some photographs and samples to Caroline Stromberg of the Swedish Museum of Natural History, who spotted tiny particles of silica called phytoliths that have come from the grass family, including relatives of rice and bamboo and forage-type grasses, according to a report in the journal Science published Friday.

The discovery surprised scientists. The earliest grass fossils ever found could be traced back to about 55 million years ago. And the giant plant-eating sauropod dinosaurs were supposed to eat plants like ferns and palms, as they didn't have the special kind of teeth needed to grind up abrasive blades.

Scientists said the diversity of the grasses suggest that grasses must have originated considerably earlier, well over 80 million years ago.

The findings also suggest that rodent-like early mammals that roamed among the dinosaurs may have fed on grass. They had teeth looking like those of grass-eating animals today, but much smaller.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: coprolite; coprolites; crevolist; dinosaur; dinosaurs; godsgravesglyphs; india; paleontology

1 posted on 11/18/2005 1:25:00 PM PST by glow-worm005
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To: glow-worm005

What would you expect them to eat...cows?


2 posted on 11/18/2005 1:25:53 PM PST by MarkeyD (Cindy - The new 'C' word! I really, really loathe liberals.)
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To: glow-worm005



Didn't like dark meat...?


3 posted on 11/18/2005 1:26:24 PM PST by SouthernFreebird
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To: glow-worm005
Posted Here:Indian Dinosaurs Were Vegetarians
4 posted on 11/18/2005 1:26:34 PM PST by nickcarraway (I'm Only Alive, Because a Judge Hasn't Ruled I Should Die...)
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To: glow-worm005

Now all those dioramas will have to have grass added to the ferns.


5 posted on 11/18/2005 1:27:37 PM PST by R. Scott (Humanity i love you because when you're hard up you pawn your Intelligence to buy a drink.)
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To: glow-worm005

Grass is a gateway plant. Why do you think they are extinct?


6 posted on 11/18/2005 1:28:49 PM PST by GSWarrior (Posting bandwidth-consuming images since November 2000.)
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To: glow-worm005
Mebbe they had a smashing recipe for lentil soup...
7 posted on 11/18/2005 1:30:34 PM PST by steveo (Stewpot - There is absolutely nothing like the frame of a dame...)
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To: MarkeyD
What would you expect them to eat...cows?

Not in India! That cow could be someone's grandmother, ya know!

8 posted on 11/18/2005 1:31:08 PM PST by Bluegrass Conservative
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To: Bluegrass Conservative

Q. What does a dinosaur eat?
A: Anything it wants.


9 posted on 11/18/2005 1:42:09 PM PST by Kirkwood
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To: GSWarrior
Grass is a gateway plant. Why do you think they are extinct?

He he he...

10 posted on 11/18/2005 1:48:59 PM PST by frogjerk (LIBERALISM - Being miserable for no good reason)
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To: glow-worm005

Uh Oh. Time for more backtracking and revisionism by evolutionists.

Them facts are stubborn things.


11 posted on 11/18/2005 2:22:12 PM PST by Elpasser
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To: Elpasser
Uh Oh. Time for more backtracking and revisionism by evolutionists.

You say that as if welcoming fact-induced change to the ToE is a bad thing.

12 posted on 11/18/2005 2:23:47 PM PST by Antonello
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To: glow-worm005
"Cowasaurus Rex"

MOO!

13 posted on 11/18/2005 2:33:39 PM PST by manwiththehands
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To: GSWarrior

The Real Reason Dinosaurs Became Extinct

14 posted on 11/18/2005 2:37:08 PM PST by Antonello
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To: Elpasser

> Time for more backtracking and revisionism by evolutionists.

But wait! I've been told by Creationists that Evolutionists do not want to talk about changes to the theory! Don't tell me that - GASP! - some Creationists *lie!*


15 posted on 11/18/2005 2:49:35 PM PST by orionblamblam ("You're the poster boy for what ID would turn out if it were taught in our schools." VadeRetro)
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To: Elpasser

"Time for more backtracking and revisionism by evolutionists."

Since evolution is science, it is subject to revision and changes. Unlike, oh I don't know, creationism?


16 posted on 11/18/2005 4:15:33 PM PST by sagar
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To: Elpasser
"Uh Oh. Time for more backtracking and revisionism by evolutionists.

Them facts are stubborn things."

This in no way changes the ToE. This just pushes back the origin of grasses. Nobody is *backtracking*. The only things that it revises are established theories in paleobotany, not evolutionary biology. Unlike creationism, science actually changes when faced with new evidence.
17 posted on 11/19/2005 10:50:35 AM PST by CarolinaGuitarman ("There is a grandeur in this view of life...")
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 GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach
Thanks glow-worm005.

Note: this topic is from 11/18/2005.

Blast from the Past.

Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.


18 posted on 11/05/2011 8:52:16 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (It's never a bad time to FReep this link -- https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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