Fruit-eating adaptations in a Late Cretaceous oviraptorosaur (Theropoda)
Abstract
The diversification of herbivorous dinosaurs and the rise of angiosperms in the Late Cretaceous are each well established, but the link between them is debated. Broad-scale diversity patterns in the two groups appear not to closely align, and there is no direct evidence of dinosaur adaptation to angiosperm-based diets. Here we describe Infernogallus jamesi gen. et. sp. nov., a diminutive caenagnathid oviraptorosaur, and show that these theropods were specialised herbivores that originated alongside the rise of fleshy angiosperm fruits. The nearly complete, articulated skull of Infernogallus jamesi —the first for the clade—reveals drastic changes to the adductor musculature organisation, unique in non-avian theropods but converged upon by extant frugivorous parrots. These modifications enabled extensive oral processing of soft food using anteroposterior movement of the mandible and occlusion of ridges and grooves on opposed elements. Altogether, this attests to a highly specialised herbivorous diet in caenagnathids, which likely consisted in large part of fleshy angiosperm fruits, which increased in size and diversity in concert with the radiation of oviraptorosaurs. Caenagnathids thus provide one of the strongest candidates for angiosperm-based diet adaptations in dinosaurs, but their role in the Late Cretaceous proliferation of fruit—which shaped early Cenozoic flora—remains unclear.
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BibTeX
@article{funston2026fruiteating,
title = {{Fruit-eating adaptations in a Late Cretaceous oviraptorosaur (Theropoda)}},
author = {Gregory F. Funston and Thomas W. Dudgeon and D. Jade Simon and Danielle M. Dufault and Clint Boyd and Denver Fowler and Philip J. Currie and David C. Evans},
journal = {Nature Communications},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-78343-w},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-78343-w},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Fruit-eating adaptations in a Late Cretaceous oviraptorosaur (Theropoda)
AU - Gregory F. Funston
AU - Thomas W. Dudgeon
AU - D. Jade Simon
AU - Danielle M. Dufault
AU - Clint Boyd
AU - Denver Fowler
AU - Philip J. Currie
AU - David C. Evans
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/10
JO - Nature Communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-78343-w
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-78343-w
AB - The diversification of herbivorous dinosaurs and the rise of angiosperms in the Late Cretaceous are each well established, but the link between them is debated. Broad-scale diversity patterns in the two groups appear not to closely align, and there is no direct evidence of dinosaur adaptation to angiosperm-based diets. Here we describe Infernogallus jamesi gen. et. sp. nov., a diminutive caenagnathid oviraptorosaur, and show that these theropods were specialised herbivores that originated alongside the rise of fleshy angiosperm fruits. The nearly complete, articulated skull of Infernogallus jamesi —the first for the clade—reveals drastic changes to the adductor musculature organisation, unique in non-avian theropods but converged upon by extant frugivorous parrots. These modifications enabled extensive oral processing of soft food using anteroposterior movement of the mandible and occlusion of ridges and grooves on opposed elements. Altogether, this attests to a highly specialised herbivorous diet in caenagnathids, which likely consisted in large part of fleshy angiosperm fruits, which increased in size and diversity in concert with the radiation of oviraptorosaurs. Caenagnathids thus provide one of the strongest candidates for angiosperm-based diet adaptations in dinosaurs, but their role in the Late Cretaceous proliferation of fruit—which shaped early Cenozoic flora—remains unclear.
SN - 2041-1723
ER -