What did Nodosaurs Eat? BU Participates in Dino Study

Staff and student of Brandon University have partnered together with researchers from the University of Saskatchewan and the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology to study the contents of a fossilized stomach of a nodosaur, an armor-plated dinosaur that weighed in close to 3,000 pounds and roamed Alberta millions of years ago.

The fossil specimen had been found in a mine pit north of Fort McMurray, AB back in 2011.  It has been on display at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, AB since 2017.  However, what’s of unique interest to this research team is the contents of its stomach.

It’s been long understood that the nodosaur was an herbivore, however this study has shown conclusive evidence that this is in fact true, as the contents of its stomach consisted mostly of the leaves of specific ferns that grew in that area of northern Alberta. 

The research team included Brandon University Biology Professor Dr. David Greenwood, research associate Cathy Greenwood, and BU Master of Science (Environmental and Life Sciences) student Jessica Kalyniuk.

According to today’s News Release from BU, the research team was led by Royal Tyrrell Museum paleontologist Caleb Brown and Brandon University biologist David Greenwood and they were among ‘the first to examine the actual stomach contents of the nodosaur that lived more than 110 million years ago in the area that would later become northern Alberta. While it has long been understood that the 1,300-kilogram nodosaur, a type of ankylosaur, was a herbivore, the opportunity to examine the last meal of the most well-preserved specimen of the creature ever found has provided conclusive dietary evidence that has never been available for a herbivorous dinosaur.’

“The discovery of a specimen like this is absolutely remarkable, and the preservation of the plant fragments is evidence that it died shortly after its last meal,” David Greenwood said of the nodosaur, which was found at an open pit mine north of Fort McMurray, Alta. “The vast majority of what we found in its stomach was fern leaves, along with a few stems and twigs. We also found charcoal in the stomach indicating that it was grazing in a freshly burned area, where ferns are some of the first plants that emerge, giving us insight into the way the nodosaur lived.”

BU Bachelor of Science graduate of 2019, Jessica Kalyniuk, says the opportunity to contribute to such notable research as a student is very meaningful.

“When I started my MSc., I wasn’t truly aware of how rare fossilized stomach contents are, but the more I learned the more interesting it became to me and the more aware and in awe I was that this is truly unique research,” said Kalyniuk, who is pursuing her master’s degree. “This has given me an opportunity to get experience at the museum, including hands-on and remote access to their collections, which will play a large role in my thesis work. It has also provided me with new colleagues, resources and support that are of great benefit to me, and I’m sure will continue to be in the future.”

‘Kalyniuk spent 10 days doing research at the Royal Tyrrell Museum after receiving a grant from the Royal Tyrrell Museum Cooperating Society. If travel restrictions due to COVID-19 permit, she has more fieldwork planned for this year, funded by the US Paleontological Society, including two weeks working with a field crew at Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta as well as a trip to USask to study Basinger’s collections of plants from the era.’

Royal Tyrrell Museum palaeontologist Caleb Brown says this new study changes what they know about the diet of large herbivorous dinosaurs.  “Our findings are also remarkable for what they can tell us about the animal’s interaction with its environment, details we don’t usually get just from the dinosaur skeleton.”

‘Research continues on Borealopelta markmitchelli—the best fossil of a nodosaur ever found—to learn more about its environment and behaviour while it was alive.  BU Student Kalyniuk is currently expanding her work on fossil plants of this age to better understand the composition of the forests in which it lived. Many of the fossils she will examine are in Basinger’s collections at USask.’