New armored dinosaur found in Chile had bizarre weaponized tail - CNN
The dinosaur, named Stegouros elengassen, had evolved a large tail weapon unlike those seen in other armored dinosaurs such as the paired spikes of Stegosaurus and the club-like tail of Ankylosaurus.While its skull had features in common with other ankylosaurs, its tail weaponry was "bizarre," according to the study, which was published in the journal Nature on Wednesday."The tail is extremely strange, as it is short for a dinosaur and the posterior half is encased in dermal bones (bones that grow in the skin) forming a unique (tail) weapon," said Sergio Soto Acuña, main author of the study and a doctoral student at the Universidad de Chile, via email.