Re: Ceratopsian Shield Holes

[Stan Friesen <swf@ElSegundoCA.ATTGIS.COM>]

>From: bz050@freenet.carleton.ca (Ben S. Roesch)

 > Forgive me for the rather crude subject line, but I was just wondering:
 > Were the holes in ceratopsian(at least some of them) shileds used in
 > any way by the animal? I was thinking that they may of had these holes 
 > in real life; in other words you coulod see through these holes. What
 > do you guys think?

They were muscle attachment areas, at least in part.  The other
function of the holes was to provide an area for the muscles to
expand into when they were contracted.

In life the holes would have been "filled" by living tissue.
This is why it is pretty much out of the question that these
"shields" were used for protection - they would have been as
susceptible to damage as the stuff they were supposedly protecting.

swf@elsegundoca.attgis.com              sarima@netcom.com

The peace of God be with you.