Named Infernogallus jamesi, the dinosaur lived in the region that is now part of North America and had special mouthparts that helped it chew and eat fruit, reported NYPost. Scientists have discovered a new species of dinosaur that ate fruit instead of meat around 66 million years ago.
The name comes from the Hell Creek Formation, where its fossil was discovered. The discovery also helps researchers understand the relationship between dinosaurs and flowering plants.
Dr Gregory Funston, an assistant professor in the Department of Anatomical Sciences at Stony Brook University, said researchers already knew that dinosaurs evolved to occupy a wide range of ecological roles during the Cretaceous period. However, the discovery of fruit-eating dinosaurs came as a surprise, as scientists had not expected to find evidence of such dietary behaviour, according to Phys.org. Researchers named the dinosaur Infernogallus jamesi, with its genus name meaning “Hell Chicken”.
The findings were published in the journal Nature . Because it provides evidence of a fruit-eating dinosaur, a diet that researchers had not previously identified in these animals, the discovery is important.
