Page 41 - Dinosaur (DK Eyewitness Books)

BREAKTHROUGH BONE
This part of an Iguanodon backbone was among
the most important early finds of any dinosaur.
Discovered in the mid-1830s, it shows that
the vertebrae between the hips were
fused—something not seen in other reptiles.
The presence of fused vertebrae was one of the
clues that led scientists to realize that dinosaurs
formed a whole new group of reptiles. Caudal vertebrae (tail bones)

Sacral vertebrae

Ilium (topmost hip bone)

Ischium (lower,
rear hip bone) Cable

Pubis (lower,
forward hip bone) Pier
Road
Femur (thigh bone)

Fibula
(calf bone)

Tibia
(shin bone) BONY BRIDGE
Diplodocus’s back was a little like a modern-day suspension
bridge. The pillarlike limbs of this sauropod were like the piers
on the sides of the bridge. The ligaments in the backbone were
like the cables passing over the piers, and the road they support
Metatarsal
(foot bone) was like Diplodocus’s backbone. The backbone passed over the
dinosaur’s heavy limbs and held up the neck and tail projecting
from the main part of the body.

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