Norbert Frotzler (2017)
A new reconstruction of Struthiosaurus austriacus Bunzel 1871.
PeerJ Preprints 5:e2758v1
A novel reconstruction of the nodosaurid dinosaur Struthiosaurus austriacus Bunzel 1871 is presented. Because bones and dermal armor are preserved as disarticulated elements only and because of the lack of field notes from the original excavation(s), any attempt to reconstruct the animal is complicated. To date, no reconstruction is available for Struthiosaurus austriacus. This study primarily focuses on aspects of function and arrangement of dermal armor. The re-investigation of the original material of S. austriacus revealed that - in all likelihood - many plates from the left side of the body may well belong to a single individual. This observation is an important step towards the successful reconstruction of S. austriacus.