Plant-eating dinosaurs were a common sight roaming the earth. Some ate just plants, while others dabbled in meat too.
Fortunately, scientists can determine a dinosaur’s diet using its skull. Herbivores have wide, flat teeth that mash tough vegetation.
Long-Necked Herbivores
During the Late Jurassic period, long-necked herbivore dinosaurs lived on Earth. This group of animals had elongated necks, thick legs and small heads that helped them reach up high to grab food off the tops of trees.
These dinosaurs are part of the sauropod clade of plant-eating dinosaurs. They had a long neck and a whip-like tail that was attached to a large body. These herbivores were known for being the largest and most powerful land animals to ever exist on Earth.
The longest long-necked herbivores included Argentinosaurus, Alamosaurus and Camarasaurus. These species grew to huge sizes and weighed up to 33 tons.
They also had a large stomach that allowed them to digest their plant food. They used their digestive system to break down the plants into smaller pieces that were easier to chew.
Their teeth were strong and able to cut through all kinds of plants, including conifers. The long necks of these herbivores allowed them to reach the tallest branches of trees where they could eat the leaves.
One of the most popular examples of a long-necked herbivore is the Diplodocus, which was one of the biggest and most powerful dinosaurs to ever live. It had a long neck and whip-like tail that measured up to 98 feet in length.
Other big long-necked herbivores include Apatosaurus, Brontosaurus and Mamenchisaurus. They were all herbivores that grew to be 20 to 30 feet in length.
These long-necked herbivores weighed up to 10 to 15 tons and had a bulky body with four large legs that supported their long necks and whip-like tails. The scaly skin of these herbivores is what gives them their lizard-like appearance.
The earliest long-necked herbivores were the prosauropods, which means “before lizard feet.” These creatures evolved in the Late Triassic and died out in the Early Jurassic.
Another popular long-necked herbivore was Brachiosaurus, which grew to a massive size and weighed more than 50 tons. Its long neck and whip-like tail were a big help in getting it to the highest branches of trees where it could eat the leaves.
Long Legs
When it comes to herbivore dinosaurs, there are a few key traits that set them apart from carnivorous dinos. These traits include long necks, a four-legged stance, and large, complex digestive systems that can break down plant food into smaller, more manageable pieces.
Among the best known herbivorous dinosaurs are sauropods, which were enormous, plant-eating creatures that lived in North America during the Jurassic period. They had huge, muscular necks and long tails, which allowed them to stretch up in the trees and reach plant leaves that would have been impossible for many other dinosaurs to get their mouths on.
In addition, the necks of sauropods often had chambered or solid crests on them that scientists think helped them blast their auditory signals. Another interesting feature of sauropods’ necks was that they were flexible enough to allow them to flex their necks in a wide arc, giving them more space in the trees as they searched for food.
Another thing that sets sauropods apart from other animals is their small teeth. They often have pencil-like shapes that were perfect for ripping off leaves and needles from trees.
The long necks of sauropods also made it possible for them to eat lots of food at one time. Brachiosaurus, for example, was about the size of a four-story building when it slowly walked up to a tree and stretched its long neck to rip off pine needles and leaves that no other animal could reach.
Herbivores ate both plants and meat, but they needed a complicated digestive system to break down their food. They swallowed their food whole, but they also sometimes swallowed stones that churned with the food in their stomachs and broke down plant material into smaller pieces.
Herbivores also typically had armatures that protected them from predators, such as horns, bony skull frills, plates, thickened bones, or tail/thumb spikes. These armatures may have been necessary for some dinosaurs, such as Iguanodon, to survive in a hostile environment.
Large Digestive System
Herbivore dinosaurs had large digestive systems that helped them to get the nutrients they needed from plants. Their intestines were long and curved, and they had special stomach acids that could digest cellulose, the tough part of plant matter.
Herbivorous dinosaurs were also able to swallow large amounts of food. This allowed them to store more nutrients than carnivores, which often had smaller intestines.
They could also absorb more water and minerals from plants, which they needed to stay healthy. Their specialized teeth were ideal for slicing and grinding different kinds of vegetation, such as tree branches, grasses, and vines.
In addition to their specialized teeth, herbivorous dinosaurs had long, curved intestines that were designed to help them take in plant material. This was important for storing the nutrients they got from the foods they ate, and it would have also improved their digestion.
Their large intestines were also hollow, which helped them move their food through them. The walls of the organs moved in a way called peristalsis, which looked like an ocean wave. The waves of narrowing in the muscles pushed the food down the organs and mixed it with digestive juices that contained acid and enzymes.
The large intestines also had pores that allowed a wide range of bacteria to live inside them. These bacteria, along with other kinds of microbes, are important for a healthy digestive system.
Another type of bacteria in the intestines is called protists (say: phr-ot-sit-ah), which produce lactic acid and other substances that are necessary for the digestion of foods. These bacteria are also important for keeping the lining of the intestines clean.
These bacteria are also crucial for the health of other organisms that live in the digestive tract, such as worms. Their numbers can increase or decrease depending on where they live and what they do.
Many herbivorous dinosaurs ate a mixture of meat and plants. This was because the types of plants they ate varied from place to place. Some of these plants were tougher than others, so the herbivorous dinosaurs had to use their specialized teeth to rip and strip them apart.
Teeth
Plant-eating dinosaurs needed teeth that could withstand the tough plant material they were eating. Depending on the type of plant, their teeth may have been shaped for chopping, raking, or crushing. Some herbivores also had sharp beaks that were used to snip off leaves or twigs.
Herbivores had a mix of incisor, canine, and molar teeth in their mouths. The molars were the flat, blunt teeth at the back of their mouths. The incisors were the sharp, pointed teeth at the front of their mouths that were used to bite and slice food.
Some herbivores had long canines and even saber teeth. These were often used for competition in mating, but they did not mean that they were carnivores.
Another interesting fact about herbivore teeth is that they can help scientists learn more about the dinosaurs who lived before them and what their diets were. By studying the wear and tear of their teeth, researchers can determine what they ate and how the dinosaurs chewed.
The most common types of teeth found in dinosaurs are molars, incisors and canine teeth. There are some species that have all of these teeth, but others only had a few.
Most herbivore teeth were flat, but some of them had ridges and were shaped like spatulas. These were especially useful for mash-ups of hard, twig-like vegetation.
Occasionally, some herbivore teeth were cone-shaped. These were usually found in sauropods, the largest types of herbivore dinosaurs.
Herbivore teeth also varied in shape by the species of dinosaur they belonged to. Some had conical teeth, which are broader at the base and narrower at the tip with a sharp edge.
These conical teeth were found in many sauropods, including Diplodocus and Camarasaurus.
The biggest herbivore dinosaurs had replacement teeth ready to grow when their teeth became worn down from chewing and cutting through tough vegetation. They grew new teeth about every 35 days, which is about twice as fast as mammalian plants-eaters grow their own replacement teeth.
Herbivores replaced their teeth often, and some of the most powerful herbivores grew their teeth very quickly. For example, the longest herbivore ever found, Diplodocus, grew a new tooth in about 30 days.