PALEO200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Insectivore, Gastrolith, Coprolite
5 Apr 2016
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Document Summary
When we try to figure out the diet and behaviour of animals, we look at adaptions o. Carnivores sharp teeth for piercing and tearing flesh. Insectivore eat insects: very sharp teeth for piercing exoskeleton of insects o. Birds: don"t have teeth but birds of prey have sharp curved beaks, sharp talons and very strong feet: birds that eat insects have generalized triangular beaks for picking bugs up. Shore birds long beaks for probing into sand and mud o. Piscivores specialized for eating fish o o o. Fish tend to be difficult to catch but once caught, are easy to kill and can be swallowed whole. Elongated jaws that reach far and snap fast. Teeth are usually tall and conical (good for spearing and holding onto fish: procumbent dentition: teeth in front of mouth point forward at an angle; allow front tip of jaw to impale fish. Thick rounded molars and deep powerful jaws that allow them to crack bones.
