What was on the end of a Stegosaurus tail?

What was on the end of a Stegosaurus tail?

A thagomizer (/ˈθæɡəmaɪzər/) is the distinctive arrangement of four spikes on the tails of stegosaurine dinosaurs. These spikes are believed to have been a defensive measure against predators.

What dinosaur had a ball on its tail?

Ankylosaurus
Ankylosaurus magniventris, facts and photos. Famous for its clubbed tail, Ankylosaurus roamed North America some 70 million to 66 million years ago in the late Cretaceous period.

What dinosaur had spikes on it’s tail?

Often compared to an army tank or bus, Ankylosaurus was a heavily armored dinosaur with a large club-like protrusion at the end of its tail.

Why is it called a thagomizer?

The term “thagomizer” was coined by Gary Larson in humor, in a 1982 Far Side comic strip, in which a group of cavemen in a faux-modern lecture hall are taught by their caveman professor that the spikes on a Stegosaur’s tail are so named “after the late Thag Simmons”.

What are the plates on a Stegosaurus tail called?

The most recognizable features of Stegosaurus are its dermal plates, which consisted of between 17 and 22 separate plates and flat spines. These were highly modified osteoderms (bony-cored scales), similar to those seen in crocodiles and many lizards today.

What is an Ankylosaurus tail called?

In zoology, a club is a bony mass at the end of the tail of some dinosaurs and of some mammals, most notably the ankylosaurids and the glyptodonts, as well as meiolaniid turtles. The tail club is most often depicted on Ankylosaurus, especially in encounters with larger predators such as Tyrannosaurus.

Is Stegosaurus a theropod?

Stegosaurus madagascariensis from Madagascar is known solely from teeth and was described by Piveteau in 1926. The teeth were variously attributed to a stegosaur, the theropod Majungasaurus, a hadrosaur or even a crocodylian, but is now considered a possible ankylosaur.

How many spikes does Stegosaurus have?

Different species of Stegosaurus had different numbers of tail spikes; Stegosaurus ungulatis had 8 spikes and Stegosaurus stenops had 4 spikes. Some early Stegosaurus had shoulder spines.

What did Stegosaurus plates do?

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.

Why did Stegosaurus have spikes on its tail?

Instead, Stegosaurus likely used its plates for display purposes. “Showing off, species recognition, attracting mates — that sort of thing,” Carpenter explained. Stegosaurus also had spikes at the end of its flexible tail, which pointed outward from the sides.

What is Stegosaurus ungulatus?

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.

How well do you know Stegosaurus?

Pretty much every 7 year old in the world can tell you that Stegosaurus was a plant-eating dinosaur which walked on four legs, and possessed two rows of bony plates and spines that extended down its back from its neck right to the end of its tail.

Where was the most complete juvenile Stegosaurus found?

The most complete juvenile Stegosaurus was found in the Carnegie Quarry. Stegosaurus is one of the most easily recognized dinosaurs of the Jurassic. The plates on its back and spikes on its tail make it one of the most unique creatures of the Mesozoic (Age of Dinosaurs).