why do dinosaurs have spikes on their back

The vertebra has been punctured, and the bone has healed in a ring. Insert a Stegosaurus tail spike into the ring and it fits perfectly, perhaps suggesting the injury was inflicted by the back end of an angry stegosaur. Researchers have also calculated that the force at the end of a swinging stegosaur tail spike could impact into bone.

Full Answer

What kind of dinosaur has spikes on its back?

Stegosaurus is a plant eating dinosaur with plates on its back and spikes on its tail. Stegosaurus ungulatus is a species of ornithischian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of North America, found in the Morrison Formation. Stegosaurus means “roofed lizard,” a reference to its plates.

Why does a Stegosaurus have spikes on its back?

Stegosaurus is a plant eating dinosaur with plates on its back and spikes on its tail. Stegosaurus means “covered lizard,” a reference to its plates. They may have been used to protect its back from predators trying to grab a quick bite, or they could have helped to regulate their body temperature.

What kind of plates did dinosaurs have on their backs?

Instead of spines or sails, some dinosaurs have rows of plates on their backs. We’ve already discussed the spikes on the tail of the Stegosaurus, but it was also covered with large hexagonal plates arranged in two rows along its back.

Why did dinosaurs have spines on their back?

Whether the spines on these high-spined—but not necessarily sailed—dinosaurs were for increased axial musculature, fat storage, neither or both, it would seem that all of these animals would be making themselves appear much larger from the side.

What is the dinosaur with the spikes on its back called?

StegosaurusStegosaurus, (genus Stegosaurus), one of the various plated dinosaurs (Stegosauria) of the Late Jurassic Period (159 million to 144 million years ago) recognizable by its spiked tail and series of large triangular bony plates along the back.

What are the things on the back of a dinosaur?

The plates were a temperature-regulation device. If Stegosaurus was, in fact, cold-blooded (as most plant-eating dinosaurs of the Mesozoic Era presumably were), it might have used its plates to soak up light from the sun during the day and dissipate extra body heat at night.

Which dinosaur is smartest?

Troodon had a large brain for its relatively small size and was probably among the smartest dinosaurs. Its brain is proportionally larger than those found in living reptiles, so the animal may have been as intelligent as modern birds, which are more similar in brain size.

What killed the Stegosaurus?

The most likely theory is stegosaurs were outcompeted by more advanced herbivores like ceratopsians and ankylosaurs. Well considering they survived for a few more 100 million years that was clearly not the issue until some 130-125 million years ago.

What are the spikes on a stegosaurus back called?

Among paleontologists, the four-spiked tail of Stegosaurus is called a "thagomizer." It is one of a few terms inspired by one of Gary Larson's beloved "Far Side" cartoons: a caveman points to a slide of a Stegosaurus tail and names the nasty-looking structure in honor of "the late Thag Simmons." Humans and Stegosaurus ...

Do all dinosaurs have osteoderms?

Osteoderms are found in many groups of extant and extinct reptiles and amphibians, including lizards, crocodilians, frogs, temnospondyls (extinct amphibians), various groups of dinosaurs (most notably ankylosaurs and stegosaurians), phytosaurs, aetosaurs, placodonts, and hupehsuchians (marine reptiles with possible ...

Why did dinosaurs have fins?

The fins presumably served as heat collectors for these small, cold-blooded reptiles. Over the last decade or so, the pelycosaur model has been extended to several large, spiny dinosaurs that lived in Africa roughly 100 million years ago and may have had fins to help warm or cool their blood.

Did all dinosaurs have backbones?

Fish, frogs, dinosaurs, and humans all have a backbone composed of vertebrae. Thus, they all belong to the group of animals called vertebrates, which constitutes a major limb on the family tree of animals. The backbone is thought to have evolved in the very first vertebrate, or the common ancestor of the group.

What dinosaurs have spikes on their back?

Many people are familiar with armored dinosaurs, such as Stegosaurus with its spiked tail, the Ankylosaurus with its back armor and clubbed tail, and of course, horned ceratopsian dinosaurs like Triceratops with its frill and three horns. Amazingly, some long neck dinosaurs also had spikes and even armored scales. It makes me wonder, what was that long neck dinosaur with spikes on its back?

Which sauropods have spikes on their back?

There are two groups of sauropods that had spikes on their back, the dicraeosaurids and the titanosaurs. Dicreaeosaurids such as Amargasaurus and Bajadasaurus had long spikes that were part of their vertebrae, running down their necks and backs. These spikes are known as neural spines.

What are the spines of titanosaurs?

The unique characteristic of titanosaurs were the spikes – termed by paleontologists as “neural spines” – and these were actually part of the vertebrae and made of bone. These distinctive spines were evident in fossil specimens on the neck and back.

What dinosaurs have a long neural spine?

They also had different shapes. Some were triangle or diamond-shaped, while in some dinosaur species like the Amargasaurus and Bajadasaurus, the neural spines were thin, long, and enhanced the tall appearance of the dinosaur. The tallest spines (longest elongated) came from the Bajadasaurus neck vertebrae fossils.

What dinosaurs hunted sauropods?

Carnivorous dinosaurs like T. Rex ( North America) and Giganotosaurus (Argentina) are thought to have hunted these sauropods in their respective geographies. However, with the body armor and spikes on the back, these long necks would not be an easy target. Read on to learn more about these giant sauropod dinosaurs.

What dinosaurs have horns?

Many people are familiar with armored dinosaurs, such as Stegosaurus with its spiked tail, the Ankylosaurus with its back armor and clubbed tail, and of course, horned ceratopsian dinosaurs like Triceratops with its frill and three horns. Amazingly, some long neck dinosaurs also had spikes ...

Which clade of sauropods has a flat triangle shaped spine?

Closely related to the diplodocidae clade , which included Diplodocus and Apatosaurus. Had characteristically shorter necks and tails compared to other sauropods.

Where are spikes found in dinosaurs?

Sometimes these existed along with other forms of protection, like the spikes on the neck and shoulders of the armor-plated Sauropelta, an ankylosaur. Other times they ran along the neck and back, as in the backward-curving spines of the sauropod Amargasaurus, as well as the forward-pointing spines on its recently discovered relative, Bajadasaurus. Spikes can also be found on the tails of Stegosaurus and its relatives, supplementing the plates along their backs (more on those later!).

Why are dinosaurs covered in sharp spikes?

Spines and spikes like these occur much more commonly on plant-eating dinosaurs, which would have needed some way to protect themselves from meat-eating carnivores that might try to make them into a snack. Any predator trying to jump on the back of an Amargasaurus would get a nasty surprise, and a swing from a Stegosaurus’s tail could do major damage to any attacker. And, Sauropelta would have had to do little more than hunker down and let its spikes and armor take care of the rest.

What dinosaurs have shields?

Ceratopsians also possessed large shield-like frills on the backs of their heads. In some dinosaurs, such as the Styracosaurus, Einiosaurus and Diabloceratops, these frills featured spiky horns of their own in addition to those on the animal’s face.

Which dinosaurs have osteoderms?

Armored ankylosaurs weren’t the only dinosaurs to possess osteoderms. They’ve been found on long-necked sauropods, including the Saltasaurus and Malawisaurus, and even on some carnivorous theropods, such as the Carnotaurus. In these cases, the osteoderms are much smaller than those found on ankylosaurs.

What are the structures that dinosaurs have?

Some dinosaurs had large scale-like structures called osteoderms, arranged on their backs like a suit of armor. Crocodiles and alligators of today have similar structures, though those of the dinosaurs were much larger.

What are dinosaurs known for?

Many dinosaurs are known for the shocking array of spines, plates and sails adorning their bodies, and many more are distinguished by the horns sprouting from their heads. But why did dinosaurs develop such strange and unique adaptations?

What prehistoric creature had a sail?

One of the most famous prehistoric creatures to possess such a sail was not a dinosaur at all, though it is often incorrectly grouped with them. Dimetrodon was a pelycosaur, a group of animals that featured characteristics shared by both mammals and reptiles. It lived millions of years before the dinosaurs, and sported a very tall sail on its back.

Why did the Stegosaurus eat rocks?

Like many plant-eating dinosaurs of the Mesozoic Era, Stegosaurus intentionally swallowed small rocks (known as gastroliths) that helped mash up the tough vegetable matter in its enormous stomach; this quadruped would have had to eat hundreds of pounds of ferns and cycads every day to maintain its presumably cold-blooded metabolism. It's also possible that Stegosaurus swallowed rocks because it had a brain the size of a walnut; who knows?

What is the name of the dinosaur that eats a plant?

Both of these dinosaur families are grouped under the larger classification of "thyreophorans" (Greek for "shield bearers"). Like Stegosaurus, Ankylosaurus was a low-slung, four-footed plant-eater—and, given its armor, even less appetizing in the eyes of ravenous raptors and tyrannosaurs . Cite this Article. Format.

What dinosaurs were found in the Jurassic period?

Although it's by far the most famous, Stegosaurus wasn't the only spiked, plated dinosaur of the late Jurassic period. The remains of these odd-looking reptiles have been discovered across the expanse of Europe and Asia, with the largest concentrations further east—hence the odd-sounding stegosaur genera ​ Chialingosaurus, Chungkingosaurus , and Tuojiangosaurus. All in all, there are less than two dozen identified stegosaurs, making this one of the rarest types of dinosaur .

Why is the Stegosaurus considered a poster lizard?

Because it was discovered relatively early in paleontological history, Stegosaurus has become the poster lizard for wacky dinosaur theories. Early naturalists once thought this dinosaur was bipedal, like Tyrannosaurus rex; even today, some experts argue that Stegosaurus may have been occasionally capable of rearing back on its two hind feet, especially when threatened by a hungry Allosaurus, though few people are convinced.

What does the name Stegosaurus mean?

Jakub Halun / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0. The name Stegosaurus means " roofed lizard ," reflecting the belief of 19th-century paleontologists that this dinosaur's plates lay flat along its back, like a form of armor.

Where did the stegosaurus come from?

An illustration of a red, orange, and black Wuerhosaurus, a stegosaur, from the early Cretaceous Period of China and Mongolia. Although it's by far the most famous, Stegosaurus wasn't the only spiked, plated dinosaur of the late Jurassic period.

What dinosaurs were found in Colorado?

This is a bigger honor than you might think, considering the huge number of dinosaurs that have been discovered in Colorado, including Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, and Ornithomimus —but the selection of Stegosaurus was still (if you'll excuse the expression) a bit of a no-brainer. 08. of 10.

What is the name of the dinosaur that was discovered in the same quarry as the Utahraptor?

We can’t know for sure, but it seems likely that Gastonia figured occasionally on Utahraptor's dinner menu, which would explain its need for elaborate back armor and shoulder spikes. (The only way Utahraptor could have made a meal of Gastonia would have been to flip it onto its back and bite into its soft belly, which wouldn't have been an easy task, even for a 1,500-pound raptor that hasn't eaten in three days.)

What is a good example of a dinosaur?

A good example is Liaoningosaurus, an early Cretaceous armored dinosaur that seems to have existed very near the ancient split between ankylosaurs and nodosaurs. Even more remarkably, the "type fossil" of Liaoningosaurus is a two-foot-long juvenile with armor plating along its belly as well as its back.

What dinosaurs evolved armor?

Considering how many raptors and dino-birds prowled central Asia during the late Cretaceous period, you can understand why ankylosaurs like Gobisaurus evolved their thick body armor during the course of the Cretaceous period. Discovered in 1960, during a joint Russian and Chinese paleontological expedition to the Gobi Desert, Gobisaurus was an unusually large armored dinosaur (to judge by its 18-inch-long skull), and it seems to have been closely related to Shamosaurus. One of its contemporaries was the three-ton theropod Chilantaisaurus, with which it probably had a predator/prey relationship.

Which is the best-represented armored dinosaur in North America?

Wikimedia Commons. Euoplocephalus is the best-represented armored dinosaur of North America, thanks to its numerous fossil remains. Because these fossils have been unearthed individually, rather than in groups, it's believed that this ankylosaur was a solitary browser. 12.

What dinosaur lived in the Cretaceous?

We know much more about Hylaeosaurus' place in paleontological history than we do about how this dinosaur actually lived, or even what it looked like. This early Cretaceous ankylosaur was named by the pioneering naturalist Gideon Mantell in 1833, and almost a decade later, it was one of the handful of ancient reptiles (the other two were Iguanodon and Megalosaurus) to which Richard Owen assigned the new name "dinosaur." Oddly enough, the fossil of Hylaeosaurus is still exactly as Mantell found it—encased in a block of limestone, at the London Museum of Natural History. Perhaps out of respect for the first generation of paleontologists, no one has taken the trouble to actually prepare the fossil specimen, which (for what it's worth) seems to have been left by a dinosaur closely related to Polacanthus.

When was the Hoplitosaurus discovered?

Discovered in South Dakota in 1898, and named four years later, Hoplitosaurus is one of those dinosaurs that lingers on the fringes of the official record books. At first, Hoplitosaurus was classified as a species of Stegosaurus, but then paleontologists realized they were dealing with a different beast altogether: an early ankylosaur, or armored dinosaur. The trouble is, a convincing case has yet to be made that Hoplitosaurus wasn't really a species (or specimen) of Polacanthus, a contemporaneous ankylosaur from western Europe. Today, it just barely retains genus status, a situation that may change pending future fossil discoveries.

How far away is an armored dinosaur?

From a distance of 75 million years, it can be hard to distinguish one armored dinosaur from another. Scolosaurus had the misfortune of living in a time and place (late Cretaceous Alberta, Canada) that was rife with ankylosaurs, which in 1971 prompted a frustrated paleontologist to "synonymize" three species: Anodontosaurus lambei, Dyoplosaurus acutosquameus and Scolosaurus cutleri all wound up being assigned to the better-known Euoplocephalus. However, a recent reexamination of the evidence by Canadian researchers concludes that not only do Dyoplosaurus and Scolosaurus deserve their own genus designation, but the latter should rightly take precedence over Euoplocephalus.

Why are there spikes on dinosaur bones?

Since the plates were not directly attached to the bones of the skeleton, they were easily separated from the body after death . Massive spikes on the end of its tail were used in defense against predators. At Dinosaur, many isolated plates and spikes have been found throughout the Carnegie Quarry.

What dinosaur has plates on its back?

Stegosaurus ungulates. This Stegosaurus at the Carnegie Museum shows the plates staggered along the back, as most paleontologists believe they were arranged. Stegosaurus is a plant eating dinosaur with plates on its back and spikes on its tail.

What is the name of the dinosaur that has bony plates?

Stegosaurus is Greek for “roof lizard”, after its bony plates, which make it one of the most recognizable dinosaurs in popular culture.

When was the dinosaur removed from Carnegie Quarry?

In 1977 paleontologists at Dinosaur National Monument removed a juvenile Stegosaurus from the Carnegie Quarry face. They found limb bones, shoulder blades, most of the hips, some ribs, and skull fragments. Since plates were not found, it is unknown if juveniles had them at all.

Why were plate plates used?

One theory is that the plates contained blood vessels, to help regulate body temperature. Another idea is the plates were used for display to attract mates, like colorful feathers on a bird or antlers on a deer. The plates also could have been used for protection from predators.

Where is the Stegosaurus ungulatus fossil found?

Stegosaurus ungulatus is a species of ornithischian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of North America, found in the Morrison Formation . Stegosaurus means “roofed lizard,” a reference to its plates. The function of these plates has been debated by paleontologists.

What are the teeth, claws, and spikes of dinosaurs?

The teeth, horns, claws, and spikes that adorn their skeletons must have had some purpose, after all. Since the time of their scientific discovery in the early 19th century, dinosaurs have frequently been depicted as ferocious creatures often locked in lethal combat. Images of a Triceratops facing down a Tyrannosaurus bring such long-past ...

What was the name of the dinosaur that had a scratch on its skeleton?

Scientists recently found bite marks on the nearly complete skeleton of a large hadrosaur (right) excavated from the Gobi Desert that were likely punctures and scratches likely made by the eastern cousin of Tyrannosaurus called Tarbosaurus (above). In a bit of fossil forensics, paleontologists David Hone of the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology in Beijing and Mahito Watabe Hayashibara Museum of Natural Sciences in Okayama, Japan determined that the hadrosaur was dead and mostly buried when the Tarbosaurus happened upon it, with just a few parts of its body sticking up above ground.

What is the biggest predatory dinosaur?

For over a century, Tyrannosaurus rex has represented the biggest and baddest of the predatory dinosaurs. Its tooth-studded jaws still inspire a mix of fear and fascination in many museum halls, and there can be no doubt that this apex predator of the North American Cretaceous had a formidable bite.

How far can a tyrannosaur throw meat?

According to the scientists’ measurements, Tyrannosaurus could have tossed a 110-pound chunk of meat up to 16 feet in the air.

How strong are the neck muscles of a tyrannosaur?

Their reconstruction of the neck muscles of Tyrannosaurus showed surprisingly that they were strong enough to quickly swing that enormous head to the side while attacking prey. It probably didn’t even need to latch on with its tiny forelimbs before the initial, crushing bite.

What are dinosaur bones?

Dinosaur bones are what remain of once living, breathing animals, and through disparate scientific techniques – from biomechanics to bone histology – paleontologists are providing us with an unprecedented view of the lives and biology of these creatures.

Why are ankylosaurs called armored dinosaurs?

The ankylosaurs are often called the “armored dinosaurs” for the thick rows of bony osteoderms arranged over their bodies. These osteoderms took many shapes, from rounded scutes to enormous shoulder spikes and tail clubs.

Why do stagosaurs have spikes?

Many Stegosaurs had spikes on their tails. The likely function of the spikes was as a defensive weapon against predators.

Which dinosaur has a sail on its back?

The best-known dinosaur with a sail on its back is Spinosaurus. This semi-aquatic theropod lived in what is now North Africa in the Late Cretaceous. Several other related dinosaurs in the family Spinosauridae also had sails.

What are the three main types of dinosaurs?

The three main types of dinosaurs are theropods, sauropods and ornithischians . These three dinosaur groups appeared in the Triassic Period, shortly after dinosaurs split from other Archosaurs.

What are the characteristics of ornithischian dinosaurs?

One major characteristic of ornithischian dinosaurs is that they had beaks. A unique bone, called the predentary, is found at the tip of the lower jaw of ornithischian dinosaurs. At the tip of the upper jaw are the premaxilla bones, which in most ornithischians, lacked teeth. These bones supported a beak-like structure at the tip of both jaws.

What dinosaurs have bony tails?

Several ankylosaurs, including the largest and best-known dinosaur in the group, Ankylosaurus, had bony tail clubs. These were likely used as a defensive weapon against predators.

What is a diplodocus?

Diplodocus, a typical sauropod dinosaur with a long neck, long tail, small head and four sturdy legs.

How many dinosaur genera are there?

We hope that you have enjoyed this guide to dinosaur identification. There are over 900 known dinosaur genera; hopefully this page will help you to identify some of the best-known among them.

What is the function of sailback dinosaurs?

The thinking being that blood pumped through a large surface area like this, when exposed to the sun, has the ability to warm up faster than other areas of the body. Conversely when the sail is placed crosswise to a wind stream, or parallel to the orientation of the sun, heat will radiate out into the environment faster than other areas of the body. That most sailbacked dinosaurs were “localized” to equatorial areas, coupled with the large sizes of all the taxa (1-10 tonnes depending in species) has favoured a cooling mechanism function for dinosaur sails. Whereas a heating function has been presumed to be the primary function for sails in Dimetrodon and Edaphosaurus. No real function has been ascribed to the sails in rauisuchians or Platyhystrix, though this is probably due to a lack of knowledge/interest in these groups.

What is a tall spine and a sailed back?

Tall spines and sailed backs: A survey of sailbacks across time. One of the quintessential depictions of prehistoric times is that of an ancient, often volcano ridden, landscape full of animals bearing large showy sails of skin stretched over their backs.

Why sails?

Fig. 2 Example of a modern sailbacked (and tailed) reptile. Top: Hydrosaurus pustulatus showing off on a tree (image by: Scott Corning ). Middle: Close-up of the tail of a dead Hydrosaurus. Bottom: Tail skeletonized via mealworms. Note the rather wide neural spines, as well as the mineralized interspinous ligaments. (Middle and bottom images from debndan).

Which taxa lived in the early Cretaceous?

This argument is bolstered by the presence of contemporaneous sailbacked taxa living in similarly hot, arid, environments. For example Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, Ouranosaurus nigeriensis, and Amargasaurus cazaui all lived in the Early Cretaceous of Gondwana. Ctenosauriscus koehni, Arizonasaurus babbiti, Lotosaurus adentus, and Xilousuchus sapingensis lived during the Middle Triassic all around Pangea, and of course there was once a Permian world loaded with sailbacked pelycosaurs (and at least one sailbacked temnospondyl). So the concept that sails were a response to climatic pressures has some merit.

What are the spines of pelycosaurs?

In the pelycosaurs the elongate neural spines were gracile, subcircular in cross section, and in some taxa, laced with numerous projections coming off the main shaft. These spines appeared to be poor supports for any type of epaxial muscle, and were used as examples of a good sail-supporting spine.

What is the name of the group of tendons that evolved from mineralized tendons?

This group, and Ornithischia in general, are known for evolving a latticework of mineralized tendons, thus the presence in O. nigeriensis, of these tendons, could be nothing more than the phylogenetic baggage of its ancestors. Given the comparisons with extant, related animals.

Why are bonebeds important?

Bonebeds can be especially helpful for this. The bonebeds of Coelophysis bauri were used to determine the presence of a robust and gracile morph between individuals. These were one of the first cases of apparent sexual dimorphism in dinosaurs (Colbert 1989). Similar comparative work has found evidence of potential dimorphism in a variety of other dinosaur species (Chapman et al. 1997).

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• As little as we know about these titanic creatures, they have a way of captivating us and stirring our imaginations. Imagining prehistoric animals that sported parallel neck sails along its sauropodneck or bone spikes down its back and tail, stomping through the vegetation starts to be more tangible when we learn about their fossil remains. In this...

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