The team of scientists dubbed the 2-meter-long dinosaur the species Stegouros elengassen because the rest of its body resembles Stegosaurus – aka Spike from The Land Before Time. (Read also; Protected by Thousands of Tiny Teeth, the Giant Whale Shark Has Armored Eyeballs )
Although extensive DNA analysis and examination of the skull revealed a closer relationship with the dinosaur family Ankylosaurs, the team of scientists decided to stick with the name Stegourus.
“Unlike the Ankylosaurs in the Northern Hemisphere, our new dinosaur had light armor, slender legs and a smaller size. These ancient herbivores developed a large tail weapon unlike any dinosaur,” Sergio Soto Acuña, a doctoral student at the University of Chile was quoted as saying. SINDOnews from the cnet page, Friday (12/3/2021).
The Stegouros dinosaur fossil found in Chile was the size of a dog and had a unique tail slashing weapon. The discovery of the fossil Stegourus attracted the interest of researchers because of its special weaponry and capable of slicing the body of its enemies. (Read also; 80 Million Year Old Largest and Most Complete Dinosaur Fossil Found in Italy )
Moreover, of the many natural armored dinosaur skeletons that lived more than 70 million years ago or during the late Cretaceous period found in southern Chile, none resembles Stegourus. This discovery greatly surprised the team of scientists, there is a species of dinosaur that has a strange feature – a knife-like artillery in its tail.
The tail of this dinosaur is decorated with seven pairs of fused bones, imitating sharp blades. It looks terrible, but the blade in the tail is only used by Stegourus to defend against predators. “This is a very unusual weapon,” said Alex Vargas, another researcher and paleontologist at the University of Chile.
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