Re: Long-necked stegosaur coming out in Proceedings B

[Dann Pigdon <dannj@alphalink.com.au>]

Quoting "T. Michael Keesey" <keesey@gmail.com>:

 
> Living endotherms have fairly reduced tails, in general.
> 
> Hmmm ... that is coincidence, isn't it?

Macropods have pretty hefty tails, although I've never heard of them using them 
as weapons. I 
suspect tail-swiping is easier when you're a quadruped, and even easier still 
if you have a very low 
centre of mass (like sprawl-limbed ectotherms). Unfortunately most upright, 
quadrupedal 
mammals tend to have pathetic tails that are little more than fly-swatters, so 
modern 
stegosaur/ankylosaur analogues are somewhat lacking.

Giant ant eaters appear to have decent tails. Do they ever use then for 
defensive purposes, or do 
their fearsomely muscled and clawed forelimbs negate any such need?

-- 
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Dann Pigdon
GIS / Archaeologist              http://geo_cities.com/dannsdinosaurs
Melbourne, Australia             http://heretichides.soffiles.com
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