Relative to potentially larger carnivores, what ecological role might Xenotarsosaurus have supplemented its diet with?
Answer
Secondary scavenger
In stratified Mesozoic ecosystems, different carnivores occupied distinct niches. Given that Xenotarsosaurus was an abelisaurid—a major player, but perhaps not the absolute largest carnivore—it might have occupied a niche supplementary to the largest predators. The suggestion of scavenging lends credence to the idea that it might have acted as a secondary scavenger, capitalizing on the leftovers of kills made by larger contemporaries, or at least supplementing its diet of smaller, actively hunted game with the remains of larger animals.
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