A study revealed that Effigia, an ostrich-like herbivorous creature, lived in North America around 205 million years old. It used its jaws to snip off leaves and then eat them.
This is a completely different approach to the previous research that indicated that Effigia ate from pecking at ground like an ostrich.
However, experts from Birmingham found that Effigia’s skull was prone to fracture if the creature ate via pecking.
Instead, the reptile likely nibbled on soft plant matter like young shoots and ferns, using its beak like a pair of gardening shears to snip off tasty morsels.
The findings, the team said, reveal that the behaviour of herbivores during the Triassic period (252–201 million years ago) was much more diverse than thought.
One study has shown that an herbivorous, bird-like creature, living in North America 205 millions years ago, used its jaws for cutting leaves and then nibbling them.
Jordan Bestwick, palaeobiologist at the University of Birmingham, and colleagues used computed tomography scans (CT) to reconstruct Effigia’s skull. Pictured: Effigia’s skull, reconstructed. Figures (a)–(c) show different views of the cranium, (d) & (e) the lower jaw
Effigia, which is about half the size of a gazelle today, was found in New Mexico’s Ghost Ranch Quarry. It was initially discovered back in 1940.
Unfortunately, it was not possible to reconstruct the remains of the creature. The skull had become very badly damaged.
Palaeontologists could still determine that Effigia belonged the group of reptiles called the archosaurs. These animals were discovered to have flourished in the Triassic and are represented today only by birds or crocodylians.
Despite being more closely related to the crocodylians, it was Effigia’s more bird-like properties — which also included a light frame — that led researchers to originally assume that the archosaur fed itself by pecking plant material up from the ground.
Jordan Bestwick (University of Birmingham) and his collaborators used computerized tomography (CT scans) to improve the reconstruction of Effigia’s skull.
Scans showed the archosaur to have a larger, more bulbous brain cavity and curved lower and upper jaws.
Effigia is a different species than an ostrich. It has a less rounded and concave bill. The result? A pair of jaws which open and close much like a pair or shears.
The researchers created a model to mimic the effect of various forces on the skull of the creature based on their research.
The team discovered that the force involved in digging the earth would have likely smashed Effigia’s skull.
They concluded that it was more probable that the animal had used its shear-like jaws and ripped off small pieces of soft plants before consuming them.
The researchers built a model to represent the effect of various forces on the skull. They also considered the impact that could be caused by pecking at ground. This would have likely resulted in Effigia being shattered. Instead, they concluded, it seems much more likely that the animal used its shear-like jaws to snip off little pieces of softer plants before nibbling on them — producing lesser forces (right)
Effigia was approximately the same size as a modern gazelle when it was discovered in New Mexico’s Ghost Ranch Quarry in the 1940s. However, the species was not officially described until 2006. Pictured are the relative sizes for a human and Effigia.
‘The herbivores we already recognise in the Triassic period fed either by digging for roots, such as the pig-like aetosaurs, or reaching for leaves high up in the treetops, like the long-necked sauropods,’ said Dr Bestwick.
“These two-legged, weakly biting browsers are unique in this period. This shows a diversity previously unknown among herbivores.
The journal The Anatomical Record published the full results of the study.
Effigia was about half the size of a modern gazelle. It was found in New Mexico’s Ghost Ranch Quarry, in the 1940s. But it wasn’t officially documented until 2006 in scientific literature.