Premium
Finite Element Analyses of Ankylosaurid Dinosaur Tail Club Impacts
Author(s) -
Arbour Victoria M.,
Snively Eric
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the anatomical record: advances in integrative anatomy and evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1932-8494
pISSN - 1932-8486
DOI - 10.1002/ar.20987
Subject(s) - finite element method , computed tomography , anatomy , club , fracture (geology) , constraint (computer aided design) , geology , computer science , biology , paleontology , structural engineering , mathematics , engineering , geometry , medicine , radiology
Ankylosaurid dinosaurs have modified distal caudal vertebrae (the handle) and large terminal caudal osteoderms (the knob) that together form a tail club. Three‐dimensional digital models of four tail clubs referred to Euoplocephalus tutus were created from computed tomography scans of fossil specimens. We propose to use finite element modeling to examine the distribution of stress in simulated tail club impacts in order to determine the biological feasibility of hypothesized tail clubbing behavior. Results show that peak stresses were artificially high at the rigid constraint. The data suggest that tail clubs with small and average‐sized knobs were unlikely to fail during forceful impacts, but large clubs may have been at risk of fracture cranial to the knob. The modified handle vertebrae were capable of supporting the weight of even very large knobs. Long prezygapophyses and neural spines in the handle vertebrae helped distribute stress evenly along the handle. We conclude that tail swinging‐behavior may have been possible in Euoplocephalus , but more sophisticated models incorporating flexible constraints are needed to support this hypothesis. Anat Rec, 292:1412–1426, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.