Page 79 - The Dinosaur Book and Other Wonders of the Prehistoric World (DK-Smithsonian)

FEATHERED EVIDENCE

Delicate
feathers
Four tail bones were Bony tail club
fused together
to form a formidable
clublike weapon.

Euoplocephalus
Most of our knowledge of dinosaurs comes
from their bones. But this lump of ancient
amber (hardened tree resin) contains the
entire tail of a small theropod dinosaur,
complete with muscles and brown feathers.

Patagotitan

The tail of this
predatory dinosaur
was mainly used
for balance. Xiongguanlong

Sinosauropteryx
had the longest The tail was made of Corythosaurus
tail of any known separate bones called
vertebrae, forming a
theropod flexible chain.
relative to its
body.

feet. The tail of Huayangosaurus was armed that could be slammed into an enemy like a
with two pairs of sharp spikes at the tip that sledgehammer, shattering its bones. Some small
made it a formidable weapon; the midsized theropod dinosaurs like Caudipteryx had short,
sauropod Shunosaurus had a similar bony tails with long feathers, just like modern
adaptation. Some ankylosaurs like birds. They may have been used for balance or
Euoplocephalus had a massive, bony tail club to attract a mate. 77
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US_076-077_About_tails.indd 77 10/04/18 3:33 PM