SOWOULDFRUIT
Manymodernbirdshaveadaptedto
eatingfruitanddrinkingthenectar
offloweringplants–infact,these
thingsco-evolvedsothatbirdswould
dispersetheplants’seeds.Somenon-
birdvegetariandinosaurscouldhave
developedthisabilityaswell.Some
orallmayhavegrownintogradually
smalleranimalsthankstotherelative
easeofdigestionoffruitandflowering
plantscomparedtothegymnosperms
(suchascycadsandconifers)ofthe
Cretaceous,palaeontologist Matt
-BonnantoldBBCFuture.ADAPTINGTOGRASS
Intheabsenceofdinosaurs,mam-
malsslowlyevolvedwiththeability
toeatgrasslandplants.Vertebrate
paleontologistDarrenNaishspecu-
latedthatsurvivingdinosaurswould
haveevolvedmuchquickerthanks
toevolutionaryadvantagesthey’d
alreadydeveloped,likethe 1000 teeth
thathadrosaurshadintheirjaws,
whichwouldhavebeenextremely
well-suitedtogrindinggrass.
Physicalchangestotheheadsand
bodiesofthese grass munchers
wouldeventuallyhaveevolved.As
BBCFuturepointedout,“Horsesand
cowshavef lattenedmuzzlesuseful
forcroppingtough,low-lyingvegeta-
tion.”Grass-eating,duck-billeddino-
saursmighthavedevelopedsquared-
offsnouts,and“sauropodnecks
mighthaveshortened to aid grazing
at their feet.”HAPPYTIMESFOR
CARNIVORES!
Allthosedeadanddyingherbivores
lyingaround– poisonedbyf lowering
grassesandotherplantstheirsys-
temscouldn’thandle– wouldhave
presenteda totalfeedingbonanzafor
Tyrannosaurusrex, forexample,and
otherpartialscavengers,according
toForbes. Easypickings!
BUTTHATBOUNTYWOULD
HAVEBEENSHORT-LIVED
That’sbecausethe deadanimals
wouldrunout.Andwhenthathap-
pened,whatwouldT.rexandfriends
eat?“Thereweremammalsaliveat
thesametimeandplaceasT.rex,but
noneverybig– andforallweknow,
modernmammalfleshmightbeun-
palatable,”wroteWaggoner.
CLIMATECHANGEWOULD
HAVEMIXEDTHINGSUP
“AneventknownasthePaleocene-Eo-
ceneThermalMaximum, 55 million
yearsago,sawaverageglobaltem-
peraturesreacheightdegreesCelcius
hotterthantoday’stemperatures,
andrainforestsspanningmuchof
theplanet,”accordingtoBBCFuture.
“Inthishothouseworldwithabun-
dantvegetation,perhapsmanylong-
neckedsauropodsmighthavegrown
morerapidly,breedingata younger
ageandshrinkinginsize;several
‘dwarf ’sauropods(somelittlebigger
thana cow)werealreadyknown in the
late Cretaceous [era].”
105
If Dinosaurs Were Still Alive