The Mesozoic era is still a mystery to us. Despite the large number of new discoveries, scientists still can only speculate about the structure of the world of that time. Nevertheless, dinosaurs with spikes on their backs and many other features have already become familiar creatures for us, who lived in the Mesozoic era.
Who are they?
"Dinosaur" is translated from Greek as "terrible lizard". This superorder of terrestrial vertebrates lived on our planet for a long 160 million years. All this time they have evolved and changed, from the Triassic to the Cretaceous.
Creatures began to disappear during the "great mass extinction". For the entire time of the existence of research, the remains of these animals have been found on all continents. Now more than 500 genera and 1000 species are already known. Paleontologists now divide all the remains into ornithischians and lizards.
Disputes
Dinosaurs with spines on their backs and their other species have always been in doubt. Many scientists still believethat a third of the discovered species did not exist at all. There is an assumption that scientists simply confused the found lizards with those already described due to different stages of development.
As a result, two opposing camps have formed in the field of paleontology: some scientists continue to add new found creatures to species and subspecies, while others often combine already described dinosaurs into one species due to the assumption of a different age stage.
Special view
But so far there is no exact evidence in the direction of one or the second camp, we are examining dinosaurs with spikes on their backs and tails. Throughout the history of paleontology, scientists have managed to find several of these species.
Some of them are very similar to each other, there are also those that are radically different from each other, and only the spikes remain a link. It is now extremely difficult to accurately determine the number of such dinosaurs, since paleontologists themselves cannot collectively figure out the species and subspecies. But there are among them the main genera in which such creatures would be found:
- stegosaurs;
- kentrosaurs;
- ankylosaurs;
- amargasaurs;
- pachyrhinosaurs.
But starting a story about dinosaurs with spikes on their backs is a beginner.
Recently opened
In February 2019, paleontologists worked in Argentinean Patagonia, namely in the province of Neuquen. Presumably they found the remains of a new species of dinosaurs. There is a theory that the creature belonged to herbivores, and it has already received a nameBajadasaurus pronuspinax.
Feature of the beginner in his huge spikes on his back. The dinosaur had an incredibly sharp "weapon" that was protected by a keratin sheath. Due to this, it remained safe, which means it could serve as an excellent tool for attack.
Scientists have already speculated that the spikes could better express the sexual attractiveness of males, and perhaps they served as support for the dorsal growth. It was also said that due to such an instrument, creatures could maintain normal body temperature.
Because it is impossible to determine exactly how the creatures survived and reproduced, scientists have put forward assumptions about the dinosaur's eyes. They were located closer to the top of the skull as the animals fed on grass that grew closer to the ground.
This dinosaur with spikes on its back is just a rookie so far. But there are other animals that have been known for a very long time and are prominent representatives of this unusual superorder.
Stegosaurs
These creatures were large. Their main feature was a small head and a blunt beak. There was also a difference between the hind and forelimbs: the hind limbs were thicker and slightly larger.
Stegosaurs had hard plates on their backs. They grew from the neck to the tip of the tail. Each plate had a bone spike. A feature of this type of creatures were also tagomimers. This is another type of spike that grew from the tip of the dinosaur's tail.
The spines themselves were curved, by the way, this is what distinguished them from kentrosaurs. Stegosaurus was supposedly green and yellow in color, and dark green stripes could be found throughout the body. The plates themselves did not have a specific color, as they were translucent, but their rim was painted in a bluish-green hue.
Kentrosaurs
This is another name for dinosaurs with spikes on their backs. This species is very similar to stegosaurs, but presumably differs in the period of existence, although it also belongs to the late Jurassic period.
These creatures moved on four limbs, perhaps they could walk on their hind legs to get food on tall trees. Kentrosaurs also have small heads.
Along the entire vertebra, from head to tail, there are two rows of bone formations. Scientists believe that the spikes served this time as a defense against predators. The difference between this creature and the stegosaurus is that from the neck to the tail the plates turn into sharp spikes.
Ankylosaurs
What is the name of the dinosaur with spikes on its back? Another species is the ankylosaurus, which lived in the Mesozoic era. It differs significantly from the previous types. His body was covered with armor, and there was a huge bone bump at the end of his tail.
This is a large creature that moved on massive four paws. There is speculation that the size of the dinosaur was comparable to a regular bus (at least the length).
Ankylosaurus received a lot of spikes, which were located not only along the spine, but throughoutback, starting from the head, ending with the beginning of the tail. The creature now looks a bit like a turtle, because the shape of its body seemed to be slightly flattened.
There is a theory that with his bone mace, the dinosaur could cope with even the most ardent predators. Sensing danger, the creature immediately went on the defensive. He turned sideways to the offender and began to swing his main "weapon".
Amargasaurs
This is another herbivorous dinosaur with spikes on its back. It existed in the Cretaceous period. It moved on four paws, which, in comparison with the body, seemed miniature. It has a very long tail and neck, but an extremely small head.
This type of creature is also special, somewhat reminiscent of the one that was discovered in 2019. Along the entire vertebra from the head to the middle of the back, Amargasaurus wore a row of spikes, 65 cm long. These growths formed a protective tool, could form a sharp mane.
Found this dinosaur in Argentina back in 1984. The skeleton turned out to be almost complete, so paleontologists managed to create an extremely real image of the creature. It is known that his height was about 2 meters, and the length - up to 10 meters.
Pachyrhinosaurs
What is the name of the dinosaur with spikes on its back? Another such representative was the pachyrhinosaurus. It existed during the Cretaceous period in North America. And it is radically different from previous species, although it can also somewhat resemble a turtle.
Sometimes this species is compared to ceraptos. adultspachyrhinosaurs had bony protrusions instead of horns in ceraptos.
These creatures have spikes on the back of their heads. They do not look as intimidating as those of the same amargasaurs, but they still served as a protective weapon against predators.
Other species
Of course, among all the dinosaurs found, you can still find representatives with spikes on their backs. But since the existence of many is in question, there is no point in considering them.
One way or another, often the spikes were a defense mechanism of dinosaurs. They were especially developed in herbivores, who had to defend themselves against predators. In addition, animals had other elements for protection: a large tail, horns or shell.
