Ankylosaurs May Have Sucked Up Food

[suspsy]

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2015/07/27/ankylosaurs-slurped-food-with-powerful-tongues/

Very interesting! I'd love to see some paleoart based on this hypothesis.

[Kayakasaurus]

That's awesome. I was just wondering the other day if there was any evidence for any dinosaurs having long tongues.

[Yutyrannus]

Okay, this is definitely one of my favorite discoveries of the year.

I'd love to see some paleoart based on this hypothesis.

I'm on it ! I'll draw it in the concept art for Edmontonia.

[Takama]

And i will Commission Brandem to make an Ankylosaur Doing this.    This applys to all Ankylosaurus Right?

[Yutyrannus]

And i will Commission Brandem to make an Ankylosaur Doing this.    This applys to all Ankylosaurus Right?

Well, there's no evidence to say otherwise.

[DinoLord]

This applys to all Ankylosaurus Right?

Blanket statements are a dangerous thing to make in paleontology. Even closely related animals can exhibit very different phenotypes and behavior dependent on their environmental circumstances.

[suspsy]

Well, the article focuses mainly on Pinacosaurus, which lived in an arid environment. Supplementing its plant diet with insects may have been essential for survival. Ankylosaurus, however, lived in a much more lush environment. It may not have needed a super tongue to survive.

So the best solution is for some toy company to make a Pinacosaurus figure (which would be great) with a long tongue (which would be awesome).

[Halichoeres]

I can imagine an animal that lives in a place with lots of standing water using this kind of morphology to vacuum up duckweed. Wouldn't be enough to sate the appetite of a 20-foot behemoth, but it would be a good protein supplement. You know, while we're in the speculating mood.

[Balaur]

I can imagine ankylosaurs being somewhat omnivorous. Them being mostly herbivores, but occasionally eat insects, eggs, and maybe even small animals to get a little bit of extra protein. Cows will eat bird nestlings and eggs.

[Takama]

MY idea is to Commision a Shamosaurus With its tounge out To catch some flys in the Hot arid Mongolian enviroment.   No not like a Frog,

[HD-man]

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2015/07/27/ankylosaurs-slurped-food-with-powerful-tongues/

Very interesting! I'd love to see some paleoart based on this hypothesis.

Reminds me of what Gardom/Milner said in their 2006 book ( http://www.amazon.com/Natural-History-Museum-Book-Dinosaurs/dp/184442183X ):

The senses of taste and smell are closely linked in all animals, being controlled by the same part of the brain. They are used by hunters and hunted to keep track of each other, by some plant-eaters to discriminate between attractive and unsuitable food and, in many species, as part of the mating process. It is hard to believe that the big meat-eaters like Allosaurus did much tasting of the meat they bolted down their huge throats. Their tongues were probably simple and rough, designed to position chunks of meat for swallowing as fast as possible. Plant-eaters, particularly those that chewed their food, would have needed more mobile tongues to move the wads of vegetation to the correct position for chopping and grinding. One of the very rare fossil brains that has been preserved, that of an Iguanodon, shows well-developed olfactory lobes (the section of the brain dealing with smell and taste) at the front of the brain. Iguanodon certainly had a large, broad snout to accommodate nostrils and sense organs, so perhaps this dinosaur at least had a keen sense of smell and relished the taste of its food.

[tyrantqueen]

Were Ankylosaurs like Noo Noo?

[Halichoeres]

Were Ankylosaurs like Noo Noo?

Had to look that one up...but yeah, seems about right! 

[Kayakasaurus]

Here is an ankylosaur I did with a large Damselfly attracted to his moist camouflaged tongue.

[alexeratops]

Here is an ankylosaur I did with a large Damselfly attracted to his moist camouflaged tongue.

Thats a good idea, having its tongue camoflauge like the flowers. Props! 

[LophoLeeVT]

hahaha and then eat up like anglerfish does with his thingy on the head

[Tyto_Theropod]

Okay, this is definitely one of my favorite discoveries of the year.

Seconded! I love discoveries that tell us a bit about how long-extinct species may have lived.

Another point: as I read the article, the first animal that came to mind (apart from anteaters, which have already been mentioned) was a giraffe. Giraffes are obviously adapted for a completely different way of feeding and Ankylosaurs certainly couldn't have reached treetops. The similarity is in the tongue. Giraffes are treetop grazers, and in the African savannah, the main type of tree is the thorny Acacia. To avoid the thorns when grazing, giraffes have evolved long, highly manoeuvrable tongues. Could Ankylosaurs like Pinacosaurus  and Edmontonia have used their tongues to graze thorny ground plants? Perhaps other species couldn't do this, and it was a way for these animals to avoid competition for food? Just an idea.

[Ceresiosaurus]

Am I the only one who thought of the Giraffe-like tongue Iguanodons were given in the 90s when first read the article?