First gut contents in a Cretaceous sea turtle
Date
2005
Authors
Kear, Benjamin Philip
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Journal article
Citation
Biology Letters, 2005; 2 (1):113-115
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Abstract
Modern sea turtles utilize a variety of feeding
strategies ranging from herbivory to omnivory.
In contrast, the diets of fossil sea turtles are
poorly known. This study reports the first direct
evidence: inoceramid bivalve shell pieces
(encased in phosphatic material) preserved
within the body cavities of several small protostegid
turtles (cf. Notochelone) from the Lower
Cretaceous of Australia. The shell fragments are
densely packed and approximately 5–20 mm
across. Identical shell accumulations have been
found within coprolite masses from the same
deposits; these are of a correct size to have
originated from Notochelone, and indicate that
benthic molluscs were regular food items. The
thin, flexible inoceramid shells (composed of
organic material integrated into a prismatic
calcite framework) appear to have been bitten
into segments and ingested, presumably in conjunction
with visceral/mantle tissues and
encrusting organisms. Although protostegids
have been elsewhere interpreted as potential
molluscivores, their primitive limb morphology
is thought to have limited them to surface
feeding. However, the evidence here that at least
some forms were able to utilize benthic invertebrate
prey indicates that, like modern sea
turtles, protostegids probably exhibited a much
broader range of feeding habits.
School/Discipline
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Dissertation Note
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© 2005 The Royal Society