Panphagia
Name: Panphagia
(eat all).
Phonetic: Pan-fah-eg-ah.
Named By: R. N. Mart�nez & O. A.
Alcober - 2009.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Sauropodomorpha.
Species: P. protos (type).
Diet: Omnivore?
Size: Holotype estimated to be about 1.3 meters
long, though fully grown adults were almost certainly larger.
Known locations: Argentina - Ischigualasto
Formation.
Time period: Carnian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: Partial skull and post
cranial skeletal remains.
Panphagia
has been popularly perceived to have been an omnivore, an analysis
based upon examination of the teeth. This is mainly because the teeth
towards the rear of the mouth are broader and leaf shaped, better
suited for slicing through plant material. The teeth at the front
however are still better for processing meat. Without mixed stomach
contains however, the idea of Panphagia being an
Omnivore remains
speculation, though with that said, it cannot be claimed that
Panphagia was either a carnivore or an herbivore.
What is known is
that the sauropodomorph
dinosaurs are the link between early theropod
dinosaurs that were meat eaters, and later sauropod dinosaurs that
were plant eaters. At some point in sauropodomorph evolution, the
sauropodomorphs must have made the switch from a meat exclusive diet to
a plant exclusive one, and there is no good reason to assume that
Panphagia might not be a representative of this
change.
Panphagia
is also perceived to have been a primitive sauropodomorph dinosaur that
is also noted as being similar to Saturnalia.
Further reading
- A basal sauropodomorph (Dinosauria: Saurischia) from the
Ischigualasto Formation (Triassic, Carnian) and the early
evolution of Sauropodomorpha. PLoS ONE 4(2 (e4397)):1-12.
- R. N. Mart�nez & O. A. Alcober - 2009.
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