RE: Triebold pachy (any pubs?)

["Tracy Ford" <tlford@ix.netcom.com>]

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-dinosaur@usc.edu [mailto:owner-dinosaur@usc.edu]On Behalf Of
NICK SNELS
Sent: Tuesday, February 29, 2000 3:45 AM
To: dinosaur@usc.edu
Subject: Re: Triebold pachy (any pubs?)

It is the first time that one has found material from the neck. Both
the atlas and axis are present and three other cervicals, including
the last one. Attached to the last cervical is a string of three
dorsals with wedge shaped centra. As a result the neck is nearly
perpendicular to the back, which apparently wouldn't have the
animals permitted to butt heads. The cervicals apparently weren't as
solid as one would expect from an animal which would have used his
head as a battering ram. One has always portrayed pachy's with a
solid, rather robust neck, so that it would be adapted to their life
style.
No, I don't think so. The battering ram theory has been, IMHO, shown
incorrect (Yea, I hear ya Ralph). Carpenter wrote an article on this not so
long ago, and I agree with him.

Carpenter, Kenneth, 1997. Agonistic behavior in pachycephalosaurs
(Ornithischia: Dinosauria): a new look at head-butting behavior.
Contributions to Geology, Univeristy of Wyoming, Volume 32, Number 1: 19-25.
I've written about this in an article for Prehistoric Times also.
Tracy