Dinosaurs dominated the Earth for about 165 million years until the end of the Cretaceous period (Pixabay)

A new study led by a team of paleontologists at Uppsala University in Sweden has revealed new details about the dinosaurs’ long journey to dominate the planet, which began 230 million years ago during the Triassic period and ended tragically with the great mass extinction event following a massive meteorite impact some 65 million years ago. The study, published in the journal Nature, relied primarily on the analysis of fossilized feces and vomit, known scientifically as “bromalite,” to reconstruct ancient ecosystems and understand the food webs that paved the way for dinosaurs to rise to the top of the food chain.

An imaginary drawing of the 6-meter-long Polonosuchus, which had a very strong digestive system (Dmitry Bogdanov)


How did the analysis of remains help us understand dinosaur dominance?
The researchers conducted a comprehensive analysis of hundreds of fossilized droppings, with a total weight of more than 100 kilograms, in a fossil-rich area in Poland. The results showed that the first dinosaurs were small and inconspicuous compared to their competitors, such as the giant crocodile-like creatures and giant herbivores.

The study showed that dinosaurs were opportunistic in their feeding, consuming insects, fish and plants. As the climate changed and new types of plants appeared due to increased humidity, dinosaurs evolved into more specialized and selective creatures, which helped them outperform their competitors and move towards dominance.

The late Triassic also witnessed intense volcanic activity that led to radical environmental changes. This environmental diversity allowed herbivorous dinosaurs to exploit the increasing plant resources, which contributed to the emergence of larger species. At the same time, carnivorous dinosaurs evolved to be stronger and faster, taking advantage of the abundance of prey at the time.
One notable discovery was the analysis of the remains of the Polonosuchus, a huge predator that reached 6 meters in length and a relative of crocodiles, which showed a high digestive efficiency. In contrast, the remains of other carnivorous dinosaurs showed incompletely digested food remains, such as bones and fish, indicating rapid and incomplete digestion. By the end of the Triassic, most non-dinosaur predators had disappeared, leaving the dinosaurs to become the dominant creatures on Earth. The study confirms that this superiority was not a result of an instantaneous outcome, but rather came as a result of millions of years of adaptation to major environmental changes.
This study highlights the importance of studying waste of all kinds in revealing precise details about ancient life on Earth. According to the researchers, this type of analysis provides a deeper understanding of the evolution of dinosaurs and other creatures that lived in those eras, which opens new horizons for studying the history of the evolution of life and biodiversity on Earth.