Triceratops quilled?

[Griffin]

Wow I never would have thought ceratopsians had those broad crocodilian like scales. I always sort of imagined them having pebbly scales all over, like a hadrosaur or something. Not like I don't believe you guys but I want to wait for some more press on this other than wikkipedia until I start reconsructing my trikes with quills and alligator scales on their bellies.

[franchesca]

Wow they are starting to look like marcel delgados puppets

[Megaraptor]

Heh! I will never believe ths discovery.

[Horridus]

Sept 30, 2009 21:35:22 GMT Megaraptor said:

Heh! I will never believe ths discovery.

Why?

[kevin]

Well, if they publish, and there is evidence for this, then so be it. It is what it is, right? That is the good thing about the mummies and skin impressions. They show more what the animal looked like, as opposed to just bones. Apparently, we have never had a complete specimen of triceratops either, just many pieces from many animals. It kinda makes sense for the hindquarters to have some sort of protection, I think. I doubt they were a display thing, as I figure the shields did that. Hmmm. What if the quills or whateve they are were a sexual display device, maybe only on males?

[stoneage]

Sept 30, 2009 23:31:32 GMT @kevin said:

Well, if they publish, and there is evidence for this, then so be it. It is what it is, right? That is the good thing about the mummies and skin impressions. They show more what the animal looked like, as opposed to just bones. Apparently, we have never had a complete specimen of triceratops either, just many pieces from many animals. It kinda makes sense for the hindquarters to have some sort of protection, I think. I doubt they were a display thing, as I figure the shields did that. Hmmm. What if the quills or whateve they are were a sexual display device, maybe only on males?

I haven't seen any evidence yet of quill porcupine like quill feather on Triceratops. As far as I can find no living Bird or Reptile has this kind of defensive quill. The tail seems too short to be effectively swung as a weapon.

Ceratopsian expert Dr. Michael Ryan thinks the so called quill pores were actually oozing toxin (something like a Gila Monster) meaning that Triceratops had poisoness flesh.

I doubt this too as T-Rex probably wouldn't attack something wih poisoness flesh. Until I see something more substantial I'm not going to except it.

[tomhet]

^^^ Yup, I think that the 'quills' are just speculation at this point.

[[][][]cordylus[][][]]

Sounds neat!

I'd love to see safari update the carnegie figure with spines...

[franchesca]

If psittacosaurus and hetrodontosaurids were quilled then why not trike? Just like feathers on some bigger therapods.

[tomhet]

Well, the 'quills' on the Psittacosaurus are rather dubious at this point, the specimen came from the black market, I'm not so sure a fossil like that can be reliable; paleos used to make a big deal out of this, I wonder why they accept them now so readily

There is absolutely no confirmation that Triceratops was 'quilled', they found no quill at all, they just found some odd skin structures and now they are jumping to conclusions. So yeah, I'm glad I have the unquilled version of the Safari Triceratops ;D

[Ajax]

^^ Im happy with my Carnegie 'Quilless' Psittacosaurus too.

[tomhet]

Oct 1, 2009 3:09:37 GMT Ajax said:

^^ Im happy with my Carnegie 'Quilless' Psittacosaurus too.

Indeed, I think it's one of the best Carnegies I'm surprised they retired it

[Griffin]

Oct 1, 2009 3:16:16 GMT @tomhet said:

Oct 1, 2009 3:09:37 GMT Ajax said:

^^ Im happy with my Carnegie 'Quilless' Psittacosaurus too.

Indeed, I think it's one of the best Carnegies I'm surprised they retired it

Same here. I usually don't go after the carnegies that are not 1/40 scale. I like them all to be in scale when they are sitting on my shelf together but I had to make an exception for psittaco. Its a really well done figure.

About them having quills. If they did, it could have easily been just for display. Maybe those things helped disperse scent like pheromones and such as well. Doesn't always mean defense.

[kevin]

True. Like I said at the top, this was just some talk I came across by accident. I have no real feeling about it other than curiosity, but it appears that at this date there is no scientific evidence published, so anything is just random speculation. I had thought I had missed some news or something, but I guess not. Though, if it is mummified skin, with structures, would that not be more substantial than some tenuous impressions in the psittacco's case?

[Megaraptor]

Hey, you never kow. Someone at Wiki might have planted it as a joke.

[kevin]

well, the wikki author is supposedly Arthur Weasley, which is Ron's dad from Harry Potter. Possibly a coincidence, I suppose.....

[Libraraptor]

Louis V. Rey once was laughed at for his ceratin, flesh and pebbles excesses. Now some of his ideas were probably not as fantastic as they seem.

[Horridus]

Oct 1, 2009 5:45:36 GMT Megaraptor said:

Hey, you never kow. Someone at Wiki might have planted it as a joke.

The skin impressions aren't a joke; there are actually (very small) photos of them from websites unrelated to Wiki. However, the quills are based on structures discovered in the skin impressions, and not on any actual quills found. Therefore it is entirely possible that they served another purpose (like oozing poison).

It would be good just to have a decent postcranial Triceratops skeleton.

[sbell]

Oct 1, 2009 7:45:57 GMT Libraraptor said:

Louis V. Rey once was laughed at for his ceratin, flesh and pebbles excesses. Now some of his ideas were probably not as fantastic as they seem.

I've never laughed at his work--I still cringe at much of it, though. ;D

[sid]

Oct 1, 2009 13:46:20 GMT sbell said:

Oct 1, 2009 7:45:57 GMT Libraraptor said:

Louis V. Rey once was laughed at for his ceratin, flesh and pebbles excesses. Now some of his ideas were probably not as fantastic as they seem.

I've never laughed at his work--I still cringe at much of it, though. ;D

;D ;D