期刊
ANATOMICAL RECORD-ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
卷 292, 期 9, 页码 1412-1426出版社
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/ar.20987
关键词
Ankylosauria; Euoplocephalus; biomechanics; finite element analysis; functional morphology; palaeo-biology
资金
- NSERC PGS-M
- Alberta Ingenuity Studentship
- Alberta Ingenuity Postdoctoral Fellowship
- University of Alberta Graduate Students Association
- Department of Biological Sciences (University of Alberta)
- Dinosaur Research Institute
- Canada Foundation for Innovation
- Jurassic Foundation
Ankylosaurid dinosaurs have modified distal caudal vertebrae (the handle) and large terminal. caudal osteoderms (the knob) that together form a tail club. Three-dimensional digital models of four tail clubs referred to Euoplocephalus tutus were created from computed tomography scans of fossil specimens. We propose to use finite element modeling to examine the distribution of stress in simulated tail club impacts in order to determine the biological feasibility of hypothesized tail clubbing behavior. Results show that peak stresses were artificially high at the rigid constraint. The data suggest that tail clubs with small and average-sized knobs were unlikely to fail during forceful impacts, but large clubs may have been at risk of fracture cranial to the knob. The modified handle vertebrae were capable of supporting the weight of even very large knobs. Long prezygapophyses and neural spines in the handle vertebrae helped distribute stress evenly along the handle. We conclude that tail swinging-behavior may have been possible in Euoplocephalus, but more sophisticated models incorporating flexible constraints are needed to support this hypothesis. Anat Rec, 292:1412-1426, 2009. (C) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
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