• Subscribe To DinoPit Weekly
  • Contact DinoPit
  • Shop
  • Jurassic Cart

DinoPit

Dinosaurs Online

  • Dinosaur Profiles
  • Science
    • Paleontology
    • Dinosaur Books
    • Dinosaur Exhibits
  • Fun Dino Things
    • DinoCrafts
    • Dinosaur in Entertainment
    • Dinosaur Jokes
    • Gifts for Dinosaur Lovers
    • PaleoArt
  • Latest News
  • The DinoPit Podcast

Did Dinosaurs Get High From Ergot?

Recent research suggests that dinosaurs may perhaps have experienced the mind altering effects of ergot – a drug similar to LSD in it’s effects – after a 100 million year old sample of ergot fungus has been discovered.

Did Dinosaurs Get High From Ergot?

A piece of amber excavated from a mine in Myanmar by German paleontologist Joerg Wunderlich encases a small ergot fungus that sits on top of a grass spikelet. The sample has been dated to 100 million years ago. The discovery of the grass spikelet is significant in and of itself since it suggests that grasslands evolved alongside dinosaurs rather than much later after their extinction as was previously believed. This indicates that the dinosaurs of the Cretaceous period would have had access to grasses for grazing, but in addition they would have potentially grazed on the mind altering ergot fungus as well.

When consumed by humans, the grass parasite ergot can cause mind altering effects like those of LSD, hallucinations, symptoms of poisoning, constricting of the blood vessels and muscle spasms among other symptoms. Some even believe that ergot poisoning is the culprit behind the hysteria behind the Salem witch trials. So just what effect would this parasite have on creatures as large as the Cretaceous dinosaurs? There really is no telling…at least not yet.

What are your thoughts?

Filed Under: Latest News Tagged With: Dinosaur News

Learn More About Dinosaurs

Why were dinosaurs so big?

Why Were Dinosaurs So Big?

Just Why Were Dinosaurs So Big? One of the many factors that draws dinosaur lovers to dinosaurs is their sheer size. There is no animal that walks the Earth today that begins to compare to the largest dinosaurs of the late Jurassic period. Just what was it that made these prehistoric creatures grow to such […]

More Science Posts

Fun With Dinos

Dinosaurs vs. Aliens

Dinosaurs vs. Aliens

Dinosaurs vs. Aliens, Directed By Barry Sonnefeld Bought to you by director/filmaker Barry Sonnefeld (The Addams Family, Men In Black) and graphic novel creator Grant Morrison (Batman, The Invisibles, All-Star Superman) together with sci-fi artist Mukesh Singh and the artists at Liquid Comics Dominion: Dinosaurs vs Aliens is a cross-platform sci-fi project like never seen […]

More Dinosaur Fun

Latest Podcast Episode

Dromaeosaurs (Or What Jurassic Park Got Wrong, and Right, About Raptors)

https://media.transistor.fm/702f9565.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 12:20 — 11.3MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Dromaeosaurs, from Microraptor to Utahraptor, are amongst the most iconic and fascinating families of dinosaurs. Bolstered by both Jurassic Park and endless scientific studies linking them directly to birds, it’s almost impossible to not love them.

Resources:

  • Quill knobs in bones
  • Utahraptor death trap
  • The Climbing Claw

Subscribe to Podcast

Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSS

T-Shirts: Dino-Style

  • Triceratops Skull T-Shirt $25.00
  • Pachycephalosaurus Skull T-Shirt $25.00

Topics

Carnivorous Dinosaurs Ceratopsia Ceratopsidae Chasmosaurinae Cretaceous Period Dinosaurs Dinosaur Art Dinosaur Cakes Dinosaur Clothing Dinosaur Craft Ideas Dinosaur Crafts Dinosaur Cupcakes Dinosaur Exhibits Dinosaur Extinction Dinosaur Facts Dinosaur Games Dinosaur Gifts Dinosaur Movies Dinosaur News Dinosaur Research Dinosaur T-Shirt Dinosaur Toys Dinosaur TV Dinosaur Videos Diplodocidae Dromaeosauridae Eudromaeosauria Feathered Dinosaurs Hadrosauridae Herbivorous Dinosaurs Jurassic Period Dinosaurs Make a Dinosaur Monday Omnivorous Dinosaurs Ornithischia Ornithopoda Saurischia Saurolophinae Sauropoda Sauropodomorpha Seismosaurus Theropoda Triassic Period Dinosaurs Triceratops Troodon Tyrannosaurus Rex Velociraptor
Shopping Links
  • Main Shop Page
  • Your Cart

Main Categories

  • Dinosaur Profiles
  • Science
    • Paleontology
    • Dinosaur Books
    • Dinosaur Exhibits
  • Fun Dino Things
    • DinoCrafts
    • Dinosaur in Entertainment
    • Dinosaur Jokes
    • Gifts for Dinosaur Lovers
    • PaleoArt
  • Latest News
  • The DinoPit Podcast

Recent Posts

  • Largest, Oldest Titanosaur Coexisted With Many
  • ‘Dinosaur Planet’ – The Nostalgia Nobody Got To Experience
  • Pryroraptor
  • A Toothsome Spinosaurus Bed Keeps The Charismatic Theropod Plunged In The River
  • Danger Ahead For Original Jurassic Park Trio

Scott Kraus · © Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved