Re: polyphyodonty in dinosaurs

[dbensen <dbensen@gotnet.net>]

>>    An on-topic and interesting question would be whether plant-eating
dinosaurs ever develop heterodont teeth with mammal-like "molars" for
grinding. <<
Some dinosaurs (like hadrosaurs) possessed batteries of many tiny teeth that
ground plant matter, but these teeth worked more like file then a
mortar-and-pestle.  Generally, dinosaurs didn't need to chew their food at all,
since they possessed crops like birds and could grind up food with gastroliths
(actually, I've only heard of gastroliths from sauropods, but since birds have
them too, I assume the trait is fairly widespread).  There is an interesting
essay on that subject in The Dinosaur Heresies, by Bakker.

Dan