Saturday, December 12, 2015

The Giving of December. Gastonia

 Like Polacanthus, Gastonia was a low browsing armoured dinosaur, but unlike Polacanthus however it is very well preserved. In fact Gastonia is the best preserved member of its group and this has allowed for what are considered more accurate reconstructions of other lesser known species.
       It’s quite possible that one of the main threats to Gastonia was the dromaeosaurid Utahraptor, which was also active at the time and location. The impressive spikes on Gastonia's back would have made it exceedingly difficult for a predator to jump on its side or back. Gastonia may have also used its spiked tail to lash at predators, inflicting deep cuts to their flanks with its tail spines.
       Gastonia is named after Robert Gaston, who discovered the remains.

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