A sea creature killed just before it could defaecate has given
new insight into the feeding habits of plesiosaurs. The
fossilised contents of its lower intestine show the long-necked
marine reptile had a fondness for clams and snails - food items
from the sea floor. Plesiosaurs existed in dinosaur times and
were thought to be hunters of fish, squid and other free-
swimming prey. But a research team tells Science magazine that
the discovery suggests plesiosaur diets were far more varied.
"Traditionally, from the day these creatures were first found,
it was quite reasonably assumed plesiosaurs were fish and squid
eaters," said team member Dr Steve Wroe, from the University of
Sydney, Australia. "We're not saying they weren't but it's
pretty clear they had a far more generalised diet and this
Australian specimen found near Cairns was eating a lot of
benthic, or bottom-dwelling, animals." The popular image of
plesiosaurs is of a sharp-eyed and agile predator The team
actually examined the fossilised remains of two