Re: Ceratonykus braincase described

[Dann Pigdon <dannj@alphalink.com.au>]

On Fri, Apr 29th, 2011 at 2:41 PM, Tim Williams <tijawi@gmail.com> wrote:

> Aside from the low-energy yield of ants and termites, the other
> problem in having a myrmecophagous diet is the amount of non-animal
> material ingested along with the insects themselves.  As the
> myrmecophage hoovers up the ants or termites, a great deal of debri
> (bark, dirt, stones, etc) is taken in too.  In one case, the stomach
> of an aardvark contained 47% (by weight) of inorganic material.

It's been suggested that grit and small stones may even be deliberately 
ingested by giant 
anteaters, to function as gastroliths to aid digestion.

-- 
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Dann Pigdon
Spatial Data Analyst               Australian Dinosaurs
Melbourne, Australia               http://home.alphalink.com.au/~dannj
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