Thagomizer: Difference between revisions

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== Paleobiology ==

[[File:Kentrosaurus aethiopicus 01.jpg|thumb|Skeleton of ''[[Kentrosaurus]]'']]

Some stegosaurs such as ''[[Kentrosaurus]]'' do not have a distinct "thagomizer" comprisedconsisting of two pairs of spikes, as in these species there is not clear differentiation between the last two pairs on the tail and the other tail [[Osteoderm|osteoderms]], which are also spike-like, unlike the broad plate-like osteoderms on the back of ''Stegosaurus''.<ref>{{Citation |last=Saitta |first=Evan T. |title=The function and Evolution of Stegosaur Osteoderms and Hypothesized Sexual Dimorphism in Hesperosaurus |date=2025-04-16 |url=http://biorxiv.org/lookup/doi/10.1101/2025.04.10.648273 |access-date=2025-05-28 |language=en |doi=10.1101/2025.04.10.648273 |last2=Bonhomme |first2=Vincent |last3=Lukens |first3=Mitchell |last4=Vidal |first4=Daniel |last5=Longrich |first5=Nicholas R. |last6=Richmond |first6=Dean R. |last7=Stockdale |first7=Maximilian T.}}</ref>[[File:Thagomizer.tif|thumb|left|''Allosaurus'' tail [[vertebra]] with a hole matching a thagomizer spine]]

There has been debate about whether the thagomizer was used simply for display, as posited by Gilmore in 1914,<ref name="gilmore14">{{cite journal|author=Gilmore, C. W.|year=1914|title=Osteology of the armored Dinosauria in the United States National Museum, with special reference to the genus ''Stegosaurus''|url=https://archive.org/details/osteologyofarmor00gilm|journal=Series: Smithsonian Institution. United States National Museum. Bulletin 89|publisher=Government Printing Office, Washington|issue=89}}</ref> or used as a defensive weapon. [[Robert T. Bakker|Robert Bakker]] noted that it is likely that the stegosaur tail was much more flexible than those of other [[ornithischia]]n dinosaurs because it lacked ossified tendons, thus lending credence to the idea of the thagomizer being a weapon. He also observed that ''[[Stegosaurus]]'' could have maneuvered its rear easily by keeping its large hindlimbs stationary and pushing off with its very powerfully muscled but short forelimbs, allowing it to swivel deftly to deal with attack.<ref name="bakker86">{{cite book|author=Bakker, R. T.|url=https://archive.org/details/dinosaurheresies0000bakk|title=The Dinosaur Heresies|publisher=William Morrow|year=1986|___location=New York| isbn=9780688042875 |url-access=registration}}{{ISBN?}}{{page needed|date=June 2020}}</ref> In 2010, analysis of a digitized model of ''[[Kentrosaurus|Kentrosaurus aethiopicus]]'' showed that the tail could bring the thagomizer around to the sides of the dinosaur, possibly striking an attacker beside it.<ref name="NaishDK">{{cite web|author=Naish, Darren|year=2010|title=Heinrich's digital Kentrosaurus: the SJG stegosaur special, part II|url=http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2011/01/heinrichs_digital_kentrosaurus.php|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110109004732/http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2011/01/heinrichs_digital_kentrosaurus.php|archive-date=January 9, 2011|access-date=January 19, 2011|work=Tetrapod Zoology}}</ref>