Table 1.
Nutrient and metabolizable energy (ME) contents of potential dinosaur food plants. (ME for the data of Weaver (1983) was calculated by multiplying gross energy with a factor of 0.5 (digestible energy, according to Weaver 1983), and consequently with a factor of 0.76 to obtain ME (according to Robbins 1993). Gp, gas production; DM, dry matter; NDF, neutral detergent fibre.)
| sample type (no. of spp.) | ME (Gp at 72 hours) | ME (Weaver 1983) | crude protein | NDF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (MJ kg−1 DM) | (% DM) | |||
| grasses (16) | 11.3 (9.3–13.6) | 15.3 | 62.8 | |
| forbs (11) | 10.4 (9.1–11.9) | 19.8 | 37.8 | |
| dicot browse (13) | 7.5 (5.5–10.0) | 20.7 | 43.2 | |
| Ginkgo (1) | 8.6 | 6.7 | 15.6 | 27.5 |
| Araucariaceae (5) | 9.4 (8.0–11.6) | 7.0 | 4.4 | 65.2 |
| Podocarpaceae (3) | 5.9 (5.0–6.1) | 6.6 | 62.3 | |
| various conifers (13) | 8.3 (6.3–10.8) | 7.0 (6.4–7.5) | 10.0 | 51.3 |
| cycads (7) | 6.1 (4.4–7.7) | 7.6 (7.1–8.6) | 11.4 | 65.3 |
| various ferns (9) | 7.7 (4.7–11.7) | 6.6 (5.4–7.4) | 11.5 | 62.8 |
| tree ferns (5) | 6.4 (3.6–9.3) | 6.9 (6.6–7.2) | 11.3 | 63.6 |
| Equisetum (3) | 11.6 (10.8–12.9) | 5.3 | 11.7 | 48.4 |