Scientists claim to have discovered last meal of armored dinosaur

Team Udayavani, Jun 4, 2020, 8:05 PM IST

Scientists claim to have discovered the last meal of an over 110-million-year fossilised armoured dinosaur by observing the contents of its well-preserved stomach

It is said that after it died, the body was swept out to sea, bloated with gas and remained afloat until it sank in an oxygen-poor area perfect for preservation.

Scientists studying the fossil have discovered a ball of plant matter in the dinosaur’s gut that reveals the animal’s diet. The contents were comprised mostly of leaves of a particular type of fern, with very few leaves of conifers and cycads which is a type of evergreen

David Greenwood, study co author and Brandon University biologist, said, “The leaf fragments and other plant fossils were preserved down to the cells”

The nodosaur, known as Borealopelta markmitchelli, was found in 2011 during mining operations north of Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada. It had a wide body, small head and walked on four short legs