The way the dinosaurs relinquished their long dominance is well known. An asteroid struck Earth 66 million years ago, triggering a horrific mass extinction. But the way the dinosaurs - modest creatures initially - came to supremacy is less well understood.

Fossilized droppings from the Triassic and Jurassic are revealing the diets of some dinosaurs—including a surprising taste for charcoal.

Scientists studied trace fossils called bromalites to reconstruct critical food webs in late Triassic, early Jurassic.