Paleontologists have analyzed the well-preserved skeleton of a pachycephalosaur. It's a dinosaur with a head
Reconstruction of the appearance of pachycelosaurs. Image: Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
It was previously thought that pachycephalosaurs ran around each other.at each other and beat each other with their helmeted heads to compete for mates, food or territory, the scientists explain. This hypothesis was proposed due to the unusual shape of the animal's skull, but until now, researchers have hardly studied the structure of the rest of the dinosaur's body.
In the new work, scientists have studied wella preserved specimen of Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis from the Hell Creek Formation in western North America. Using a laser scanner, paleontologists built a virtual 3D dinosaur model. The researchers focused on the unusual structure of the vertebrae. Their ends had an uneven surface, reminiscent of potato chips.
Similar bone formations are absent inanimals that use headbutts for attack and defense, such as rams or deer, but kangaroos have. The researchers also noted the similarity in the shape of the pelvis and the presence of a powerful tail in ancient and modern animals.
Fighting kangaroos. Image: BBC Earth
Researchers believe that pachycephalosaursmoved by jumping and could box. When kangaroos collide with each other, they do so from a tripod position, with the tail supporting some of their body weight, the scientists explain.
The skeleton in our study confirms thatpachycephalosaurs used their tails for support, as do kangaroos, but not that they raced towards each other and bumped their heads like bighorn sheep.
Cary Woodruff, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Frost Museum of Science, research leader
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