![]() ![]() Presence of countershading suggests predation pressure strong enough to select for concealment in this megaherbivore despite possession of massive dorsal and lateral armor, illustrating a significant dichotomy between Mesozoic predator-prey dynamics and those of modern terrestrial systems.Īlberta Ankylosauria Cretaceous Dinosauria Nodosauridae coloration countershading pheomelanin pigment predation.Ĭopyright © 2017 The Authors. Modern predator-prey dynamics may not be directly applicable to those of the Mesozoic due to the dominance of very large, visually oriented theropod dinosaurs. markmitchelli was much larger than modern terrestrial mammals that either are countershaded or experience significant predation pressure as adults. With an estimated body mass exceeding 1,300 kg, B. We identify melanin in the organic residues through mass spectroscopic analyses and observe lighter pigmentation of the large parascapular spines, consistent with display, and a pattern of countershading across the body. nov., from the Early Cretaceous of Alberta, which preserves integumentary structures as organic layers, including continuous fields of epidermal scales and intact horn sheaths capping the body armor. CHICAGO (AP) The newest addition to the Field Museum on Chicago’s lakefront will give visitors a glimpse of the largest predatory dinosaur yet discovered via a 46-foot (14.02 meter) cast of a Spinosaurus skeleton suspended high above the museum’s main hall. Here we describe a new, exquisitely three-dimensionally preserved nodosaurid ankylosaur, Borealopelta markmitchelli gen. Despite thyreophoran dinosaurs' possessing extensive dermal armor, some of the most extreme examples of anti-predator structures, little direct evidence of predation on these and other dinosaur megaherbivores has been documented. Modern predator-prey dynamics may not be directly applicable to those of the Mesozoic due to the dominance of very large, visually oriented theropod dinosaurs. Extant terrestrial herbivores free of significant predation pressure, due to large size or isolation, do not exhibit countershading. Predatorprey relationships are a central component of community dynamics. Predator-prey dynamics are an important evolutionary driver of escalating predation mode and efficiency, and commensurate responses of prey 13. Among these strategies, camouflage is important for visual concealment, with countershading the most universally observed. ![]() ![]() Predator-prey dynamics are an important evolutionary driver of escalating predation mode and efficiency, and commensurate responses of prey. ![]()
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