Toothless Dinosaur Named First Known Fruit Eater
Infernogallus jamesi, a turkey-sized dinosaur from the Cretaceous Period, is the first known frugivorous dinosaur, according to research published in Nature Communications.
Updated on Nov. 8, 2026 in Botany
Scientists identified Infernogallus jamesi, a toothless, turkey-sized dinosaur with a parrot-like head, as the first known frugivorous dinosaur. Its fossils were unearthed in Montana and North Dakota, and the research was published in the journal Nature Communications.
Why it matters
The find suggests dinosaurs maintained a close ecological relationship with flowering plants, a link that had been difficult to document. It adds evidence to the picture of how plant-eating dinosaurs fit into Cretaceous ecosystems in what is now the United States.
The evidence rests on fossil jaw muscle organization, a mobile jaw joint, and ridges and grooves on the beak suited to mashing and shearing soft plants. The fossils were found in the Hell Creek rock formation, with the specific fruit-dispersal role still unconfirmed.
The players
Infernogallus jamesi
A toothless theropod dinosaur from the Cretaceous Period identified as the first known frugivorous dinosaur.
The details
Infernogallus lived about 66 million years ago and was found in the Hell Creek rock formation in Montana and North Dakota. The fossils did not reveal feathers, and the animal belonged to the theropod group.
Timeline
About 130 to 140 million years ago, angiosperms first appeared earlier in the Cretaceous Period.
About 66 million years ago, Infernogallus lived during the Cretaceous Period.
The Big Picture
The discovery places dinosaur diets within the spread of flowering plants that began about 130 to 140 million years ago in the Cretaceous. It extends the known record of dinosaurs relying on angiosperms into a new frugivorous lineage.
The find offers a clearer picture of how dinosaur diets shaped the plants and fruit-bearing species around them, which can inform future research into ancient seed dispersal. It is a reminder that fossil jaws and beaks can reveal eating habits long after the animals disappeared.
The takeaway
Dinosaurs were not only meat eaters, and fossil anatomy can reveal diets that were once invisible in the record. Readers following plant and animal history can see how flowering plants reshaped life during the Cretaceous.
Further reading
For more on how plants and their animal partners shaped ancient ecosystems, explore Botany.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Globe Gazette.
