bfler
Junior Member
Posts: 97
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Post by bfler on Jun 28, 2011 13:28:18 GMT
Hello, I recently got a copy of "The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs". What puzzles me is the frontal picture of Euoplocephalus on page 235. Ankylosaurs had a broad belly and hip but the creature on that picture looks as if it is shortly before an explosion of the body. Because Gregory Paul isn't unknown in the dino society and it doesn't look like other pictures of Euoplocephalus I want to know what I should think about it? Here the picture:  Regards Bfler |
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Post by arioch on Jun 28, 2011 13:46:05 GMT
You should think the same as me, as I said in another thread I find it quite hilarious ;D though its probably accurate. What puzzles me is not the wideness per se, but the short distance between the legs. Looks very awkwardly builded. Seems like he could fall sideways with the slightier shove from some big theropod. Not sure if G. Paul have a solid base for such reconstruction or is just another extravagant assumption like the bull neck hadrosaurs.
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Post by paleoferroequine on Jun 28, 2011 16:42:41 GMT
It's just perspective, if you're close to the Euoplocephalus it would be foreshortened in it's appearance. It's a walking stance. Note this picture of a hippo and how close the legs appear to be. I guarantee that if threatened the dino would brace itself with a wide stance  |
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Post by ichthyostega on Jun 28, 2011 18:30:12 GMT
It's just perspective, if you're close to the Euoplocephalus it would be foreshortened in it's appearance. It's a walking stance. Note this picture of a hippo and how close the legs appear to be. I guarantee that if threatened the dino would brace itself with a wide stance ;D ;D ;D |
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Post by Griffin on Jun 28, 2011 21:19:44 GMT
The body would indeed be that wide. Ankylosaurs in general had super wide bodies. If you look at the ankylosaur section in the book it shows downward views on some of them as well.
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Post by Seijun on Jul 7, 2011 17:01:28 GMT
Sad that most toy companies get this wrong. This is one of the animal's most distinctive features.
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bfler
Junior Member
Posts: 97
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Post by bfler on Jul 8, 2011 15:57:36 GMT
But there must be something wrong here. In case of the Hippo the short distance between the legs is ok because it doesn't have a tail club like the Euoplocephalus. Physically the club becomes almost useless with the legs below the inner part of the body, because the Euoplocephalus has to shift weight between the legs to do hard blows and that is only possible if the legs are below the periphery of the body. The bloated body you can see on the picture makes this process very instabil.
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Post by Himmapaan on Jul 8, 2011 19:36:56 GMT
This is only the front view, of course. There is plenty of space between the fore and hind legs in profile. And as Paleoferroequine pointed out, it is seen walking here. It would have braced those legs further if it were in a defensive stance.
It looks unconvincing to us because it is such an unusual animal seen from an unusual perspective, but the skeletal evidence is there.
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Post by paleoferroequine on Jul 8, 2011 20:00:42 GMT
I picked that hippo picture because of it's narrow track, it's not always typical. Hippos often have their legs much wider apart. Ankylosaurids would probably tend to squat down low, widen their track and brace if threatened. Could have been worse. He might have used Pinacosaurus instead, now, that is one wide load for sure!!! In the top view of Euoplocephalus if you measure the distance between scapulas it is 1/2 the total width of the animal, Pinacosaurus is even more extreme. The stance is narrow when walking but would widen if needed. And like I mentioned part of the appearance is it's foreshortened by perspective.
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