Re: Stegosaur plates as heat exchangers

[Jonathon Woolf <jwoolf@erinet.com>]

Joshua Dyal wrote:
> 
> One thing that bothers me about the idea of Stegosaurus using his plates
> as heat exchangers are the plates of closely related genera.  Maybe
> someone on this list can help me clear it up, or settle it in my mind at
> least.
> 
<snip>

> Anyway, I've said my piece.  Now its up to everyone else here to show me
> why I'm wrong.  I do want to know why it is that experts keep saying
> that the heat exchanger idea is the preferable one, but I can't for the
> life of me, buy into it.
> 

I'm not going to try to prove you wrong, because I think you may well be
right. <g>  Stego plates as heat exchangers _doesn't_ make a whole lot
of sense.  The variance in the plate design among related stegosaurs
raises a strong (IMVHO) possibility that they were for sexual display.

-- JSW