Dinosaur fossils found in southern Alberta shows that some creatures that roamed the seas 74 million years ago was able to eat almost everything to survive and thrive.
A team of researchers recovered the remains of two specimens prognathodon, often described as marine reptiles about six feet long is also closely related to lizards, 30 km south of Lethbridge in 2002 and 2007.
The newly discovered fossil, it is said only the world of fossils of this species found in the two skulls and skeletons intact.
The research was conducted by the Royal Tyrrell with Takuya Konishi and Donald Brinkman, who studied the dinosaurs fossils in an attempt to solve a real headache prehistoric.
By examining the entrails of the preserved prognathodon others, also part of the family mosasaurs, the researchers found a large fish of about 1.6 meters long, a turtle shell 60 inches, and what they described as a potential jaw ammonites.
"What was important was what prognathodon was able to feed not only on fish, like most mosasaurs did, but it can also eat turtles," said Konishi.
"He said he managed to cut the meat with his teeth and crunch it could also hard-shelled animals."
The new results indicate prognathodon was "omnipotent" in the marine food chain, also said Konishi.
Discovery has also helped the researchers to piece together again the puzzle of evolutionary previous research has shown that although the prognathodon heads were large, their torsos shown to be much smaller.
"Despite the massive head, the skeleton was not huge, had a disproportionately thin," said Konishin.
The new study showed that the heads mosasaurs were among the body parts of the first creatures to evolve and adapt so that the reptiles could spread their eating habits greatly improve survival, and cause them to develop in the top of their ecosystems.
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