Re: Dino-termites

[Dann Pigdon <dannj@alphalink.com.au>]

Gautam Majumdar wrote:
>
> Termite mound has been reported from Jurassic. A 230 MY old termite nest
> was  found  in the Petrified Forest National Park in USA. The termite nest is
> very similar  to  that build by the extant family Hodotermitidae. The 
> structure of
> the nest is  primitive but large enough to be comparable to those of  the
> extant  but  primitive  termites.

What did these termites eat? I was under the impression that most
modern species were grass eaters, especially the mound building
varieties. What alternatives were there in the absence of grass?
I've heard it said that there is more biomass of termites in the
world than all other terrestrial animals combined. Are their
modern numbers a result of proliferation of grass species, in
which case, were termites much less common in pre-grass times?

-- 
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        Dann Pigdon
        GIS Archaeologist
        Melbourne, Australia

        Australian Dinosaurs:
        http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/4459/
        http://www.alphalink.com.au/~dannj
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