Type Species: Tuojiangosaurus multispinus
Classification: Dinosauria – Ornithischia – Thyreophora – Stegosauria – Stegosauridae
Location: China
Diet: Herbivore
The Chinese stegosaur Tuojiangosaurus was discovered in the Shaximiao Formation of China. Tuojiangosaurus is the best understood Chinese stegosaur. It was medium-sized at twenty-three feet long and six and a half feet tall. Its weight has been estimated to nearly three tons. It had a narrow and low head, bulky body, and short limbs. It had at least twenty-five teeth, and these teeth had a thick base that merged at the inside into a triangular vertical median ridge. Tuojiangosaurus had two rows of plates along its spine; these became taller over the hip region. Those at the neck and front trunk were rounded or pear-shaped, while the plates towards the rear became more triangular and pointed. All the plates had a thickened central section, as if they were modified spikes. Tuojiangosaurus seems to have had seventeen pairs of these plates and spikes.
The thagomizer at the end of its tail consisted of two outward-pointing robust spikes on each end of the tail. These were angled at 45 degrees towards the vertical, indicating they were used for defensive purposes. The plates wouldn’t have been any protection against predators, as they’re too weak and brittle to protect against a powerful bite. Because they’re not adapted enough for thermoregulation purposes, it seems the best explanation towards their purpose is that of inter-species display. Many stegosaur species coexisted, and recognizing one’s own kind would’ve been aided by particular arrangements and shapes of plates between species.
 |
| the shoulder spikes on this Tuojiangosaurus are hypothetical, based on the fact that many primitive stegosaurs - and its contemporaries - had shoulder spikes. None were found with the remains we have. |
No comments:
Post a Comment