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Poop and vomit reveals how dinosaurs got so big

BBC Science Focus

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January 2025

It wasn't meat but plant-based diets that helped dinosaurs rise to the top

Poop and vomit reveals how dinosaurs got so big

Dinosaurs enjoyed a long reign as Earth's dominant species, but for a long time, scientists wondered why it took them 30 million years to reach their apex status.

Now, a new study of their fossilised faeces and vomit may have found the answer.

According to the study, published in the journal Nature, it was herbivore dinosaurs bulking up on plants that paved the way for the biggest dinosaurs, such as the sauropods and the carnivorous Tyrannosaurus rex.

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