Estimating impact forces of tail club strikes by ankylosaurid dinosaurs.

<h4>Background</h4>It has been assumed that the unusual tail club of ankylosaurid dinosaurs was used actively as a weapon, but the biological feasibility of this behaviour has not been examined in detail. Ankylosaurid tail clubs are composed of interlocking vertebrae, which form the hand...

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Autor principal:	Victoria Megan Arbour
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2009
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/310a77ec8198456ebff2fc9e8394c26f
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:310a77ec8198456ebff2fc9e8394c26f2021-11-25T06:20:50ZEstimating impact forces of tail club strikes by ankylosaurid dinosaurs.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0006738https://doaj.org/article/310a77ec8198456ebff2fc9e8394c26f2009-08-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/19707581/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203<h4>Background</h4>It has been assumed that the unusual tail club of ankylosaurid dinosaurs was used actively as a weapon, but the biological feasibility of this behaviour has not been examined in detail. Ankylosaurid tail clubs are composed of interlocking vertebrae, which form the handle, and large terminal osteoderms, which form the knob.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>Computed tomographic (CT) scans of several ankylosaurid tail clubs referred to Dyoplosaurus and Euoplocephalus, combined with measurements of free caudal vertebrae, provide information used to estimate the impact force of tail clubs of various sizes. Ankylosaurid tails are modeled as a series of segments for which mass, muscle cross-sectional area, torque, and angular acceleration are calculated. Free caudal vertebrae segments had limited vertical flexibility, but the tail could have swung through approximately 100 degrees laterally. Muscle scars on the pelvis record the presence of a large M. longissimus caudae, and ossified tendons alongside the handle represent M. spinalis. CT scans showed that knob osteoderms were predominantly cancellous, which would have lowered the rotational inertia of the tail club and made it easier to wield as a weapon.<h4>Conclusions/significance</h4>Large knobs could generate sufficient force to break bone during impacts, but average and small knobs could not. Tail swinging behaviour is feasible in ankylosaurids, but it remains unknown whether the tail was used for interspecific defense, intraspecific combat, or both.Victoria Megan ArbourPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 4, Iss 8, p e6738 (2009)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Victoria Megan Arbour Estimating impact forces of tail club strikes by ankylosaurid dinosaurs.
description	<h4>Background</h4>It has been assumed that the unusual tail club of ankylosaurid dinosaurs was used actively as a weapon, but the biological feasibility of this behaviour has not been examined in detail. Ankylosaurid tail clubs are composed of interlocking vertebrae, which form the handle, and large terminal osteoderms, which form the knob.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>Computed tomographic (CT) scans of several ankylosaurid tail clubs referred to Dyoplosaurus and Euoplocephalus, combined with measurements of free caudal vertebrae, provide information used to estimate the impact force of tail clubs of various sizes. Ankylosaurid tails are modeled as a series of segments for which mass, muscle cross-sectional area, torque, and angular acceleration are calculated. Free caudal vertebrae segments had limited vertical flexibility, but the tail could have swung through approximately 100 degrees laterally. Muscle scars on the pelvis record the presence of a large M. longissimus caudae, and ossified tendons alongside the handle represent M. spinalis. CT scans showed that knob osteoderms were predominantly cancellous, which would have lowered the rotational inertia of the tail club and made it easier to wield as a weapon.<h4>Conclusions/significance</h4>Large knobs could generate sufficient force to break bone during impacts, but average and small knobs could not. Tail swinging behaviour is feasible in ankylosaurids, but it remains unknown whether the tail was used for interspecific defense, intraspecific combat, or both.
format	article
author	Victoria Megan Arbour
author_facet	Victoria Megan Arbour
author_sort	Victoria Megan Arbour
title	Estimating impact forces of tail club strikes by ankylosaurid dinosaurs.
title_short	Estimating impact forces of tail club strikes by ankylosaurid dinosaurs.
title_full	Estimating impact forces of tail club strikes by ankylosaurid dinosaurs.
title_fullStr	Estimating impact forces of tail club strikes by ankylosaurid dinosaurs.
title_full_unstemmed	Estimating impact forces of tail club strikes by ankylosaurid dinosaurs.
title_sort	estimating impact forces of tail club strikes by ankylosaurid dinosaurs.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2009
url	https://doaj.org/article/310a77ec8198456ebff2fc9e8394c26f
work_keys_str_mv	AT victoriameganarbour estimatingimpactforcesoftailclubstrikesbyankylosauriddinosaurs
_version_	1718413795596959744

Estimating impact forces of tail club strikes by ankylosaurid dinosaurs.

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