Table 3.
Estimation of ingesta MRT in a hypothetical 38 000 kg vertebrate (the estimated mass of Brachiosaurus, a sauropod dinosaur; Gunga et al. 2008) at different levels of metabolism and hence daily food intake (for ‘medium’- and ‘low’-quality food; Hummel et al. 2008) at the extrapolated gut capacity of 610 kg dry matter (from table 1, linear approach, assuming a dry matter concentration of 15% in gut contents) and at a doubled gut capacity; MRT estimated according to Holleman & White (1989). (DMI, dry matter intake; DFE, dry faecal excretion.)
| level of metabolism | DMI (kg d−1) | DFE (kg d−1) | MRT hours (days) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| gut capacity | ||||
| 610 kg DM | 1220 kg DM | |||
| medium-quality food | ||||
| reptile | 20 | 11 | 927 (39) | 1854 (77) |
| intermediate 1 | 96 | 53 | 197 (8) | 394 (16) |
| intermediate 2 | 140 | 78 | 135 (6) | 269 (11) |
| mammal | 188 | 104 | 100 (4) | 201 (8) |
| low-quality food | ||||
| reptile | 28 | 18 | 639 (27) | 1278 (53) |
| intermediate 1 | 127 | 84 | 139 (6) | 278 (12) |
| intermediate 2 | 186 | 124 | 94 (4) | 189 (8) |
| mammal | 250 | 166 | 70 (3) | 141 (6) |