The stomach of the teenage dinosaur, Gorgosaurus libratus, is proving to be a tantalizing source of unique and well-preserved information. Paleontologists in Canada made an extraordinary discovery within its stomach cavity— the partially digested drumsticks of two birdlike dinosaurs, with the remains of two meals intact. The findings from the study were described in a journal Science Advances and represents the earliest known incident of remarkably well-preserved gut contents found in a fossilized tyrannosaur
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Gorgosaurus, which lived about 75 million years ago, existed well before its more renowned relative, the Tyrannosaurus rex. The study observes that the Gorgosaurus was a teenager in dinosaur terms when it died, around 5-7 years old, weighing about 738 pounds—13 percent of the body mass of a fully grown Gorgosaurus. Adults reached about 33 feet in length and an impressive 2,200 pounds.
The rare fossil was initially discovered in 2009 by Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology staff in Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada. Exceptionally well-preserved contents in the stomach cavity were not a commonality in dinosaur fossils, but this particular specimen disclosed the remains of two herbivorous dinosaurs—Citipes elegans.
The teenage tyrannosaur evidently had an appetite for drumsticks, as it had consumed the hind limbs of each tiny Citipes as its last meals before dying. This stunning discovery and 100% authentic revelation were indeed a sight to behold.