Re: earliest herbivore

["King, Norm" <nking.ucs@smtp.usi.edu>]

There seem to be a couple of threads stemming from the original posting.  
I had interpreted the original question to ask what is the earliest known 
exclusive herbivore, which I asserted is Pisanosaurus.  

Philidor11 stated (9/14/98; 11:59p):
 
>>At any rate, I was referring to an assertion I remember from a 
different book that the Connecticut anchisaurs were the first dinosaurs 
to follow a more or less exclusively vegetarian diet.<<

As to the discussion about whether Pisanosaurus is a fabrosaur, Tetanura 
said (9/15/98; 10:18p):

>>All of the preserved teeth of Pisanosaurus are worn, so their original 
U.N.-worn shape isn't known.  Heterodontosaurid cheek teeth are only 
really distinctive in their U.N.-worn newly errupted form.  All we know 
for sure from the teeth is that it a) wasn't an iguanodontian and b) 
wasn't a ceratopid, aside from that, the worn cheek teeth don't help 
much.<<

I have no reason to argue with any of this.  I will simply point out that 
the worn, heterodontosaur-like(?) teeth of Pisanosaurus seem to confirm 
that it was a herbivore.  QED.

Anyone for a debate over its age, then?


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Norman R. King                                       tel:  (812) 464-1794
Department of Geosciences                            fax:  (812) 464-1960
University of Southern Indiana
8600 University Blvd.
Evansville, IN 47712                      e-mail:  nking.ucs@smtp.usi.edu