CultureAugust 8, 2026
gastroliths
GAS-truh-liths
Definition
Stones swallowed by an animal and retained in the stomach or gizzard to assist in the mechanical breakdown of food.
Etymology
Derived from the Greek words 'gaster' (stomach) and 'lithos' (stone). The term was coined in the 19th century to describe these specific geological tools used by animals for digestion.
In the news
The article uses gastroliths as crucial evidence to infer how different dinosaurs digested food, showing that worn stones indicate a grinding stomach while angular stones suggest other strategies like fermentation. These swallowed rocks act as a 'memory' of an animal's digestive processes.
Dinosaurs evolved very strange and unique strategies for digesting food and absorbing nutrients
Read the full article ↗Earth.com