Last supper of an armoured dinosaur that died 110 million years ago is found fossilised in its guts revealing it grazed mainly on fern leaves

  • The 18ft beast weighed one-and-a-half ton beast was found in Canada in 2011
  • It was the most well preserved dinosaur ever discovered and its guts were intact
  • Borealopelta markmitchell was found in a mine near Fort McMurray, northern Alberta, Canada, in 2011 and is giving insight into the diet of dinosaur species
An 18-foot armoured dinosaur that died 110 million years ago feasted on fern leaves as part of its final meal, according to a study of its remains.
The fossilised plant remains were discovered inside the guts of the bone-plated Borealopelta markmitchell by scientists from the University of Saskatchewan.
The huge armoured beast weighed up to one-and-a-half tons when it was alive, and despite its bulk, it was a picky eater, according to the team behind the study.
Borealopelta grazed on a variety of plants but preferred fern leaves - passing up more abundant species of conifers when picking what to consume. 
It's the first direct evidence of a herbivore dinosaur's diet - and sheds fresh light on the lifestyles of the biggest animals to roam the Earth.An 18ft armoured dinosaur that died 110 million years ago feasted on fern leaves as part of its last meal, according to a study of its remains

An 18ft armoured dinosaur that died 110 million years ago feasted on fern leaves as part of its last meal, according to a study of its remains 
The last meal of the bone plated Borealopelta markmitchell were discovered fossilised inside its guts by scientists from the University of Saskatchewan. This image shows the remains of the species gut
The last meal of the bone plated Borealopelta markmitchell were discovered fossilised inside its guts by scientists from the University of Saskatchewan. This image shows the remains of the species gut
The study of its fossilised guts found charcoal on some of food fragments, which the team say also shows Borealopelta dined in an area that had been ravaged by a lightning-triggered wildfire.
This would have been another regular hazard in the humid, sub-tropical climate - along with dodging carnivorous cousins.
Borealopelta's strongly arched back was covered in thorny spikes - with two longer horns on its shoulders measuring about 20 inches.
The adornments helped attract mates and ward off rivals, researchers said.
Resembling a giant pineapple, the creature belonged to a group of tank-like monsters called the nodosaurs.
Co-author Professor Jim Basinger, of the University of Saskatchewan, said the findings of an actual preserved stomach is 'extraordinarily rare'. 
'This stomach recovered from the mummified nodosaur by the museum team is by far the best-preserved dinosaur stomach ever found to date,' he said.
The orange area in this drawing of the beast shows the position and extent of abdominal mass found in its remains
The orange area in this drawing of the beast shows the position and extent of abdominal mass found in its remains
It contained a distinctive mass of vegetation about the size of a football. 
Digested foods are scarce in the fossil record as they usually disintegrate over time, which is what made this discovery so unique. 
Basinger said when people see the 'stunning fossil' and are told researchers can see exactly what its last meals was - it brings the best back to life.
This provides a 'glimpse of how the animal actually carried out its daily activities, where it lived, and what its preferred food was'.
The study published in Royal Society Open Science even dated Borealopelta's last supper, death and burial to late spring or early summer.
They discovered this by studying the growth rings of woody stems and the ferns' mature spores - inside the the stomach of the dinosaur. 
Borealopelta, meaning 'northern shield', was unearthed in a mine near Fort McMurray, northern Alberta, Canada, in 2011.

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