Dacentrurus dinosaurs were herbivorous animals of 6-7 m long that populated areas with forests, with abundant vegetation, near the banks of waters, lived in herds made up of hundreds of specimens, communicated very well with each other and fed on plants at ground level.
In 1857, paleontologist Sir Richard Owen described and named this species as Omosaurus armatus, based on fossil remains found throughout the European continent, especially in England, France and Portugal. A few years later, in 1902, paleontologist Frederic Lucas named this species as Dacentrurus armatus.
This prehistoric animal lived in the Mesozoic era, from the Middle Jurassic to the Upper Jurassic, about 150 million years ago. It was very agile and quite flexible despite its armour extending from the nape to the end of the tail.
The neck area and the anterior part of the back were covered with large bony plates in the shape of giant arrowheads. From the middle of the back to the base of the tail were two strings of very large bony plates that guarded the flanks of the spine. The long and powerful tail was protected by several pairs of thick, bony, very sharp spines, true weapons of defense against predatory dinosaurs.
The bone plates were not attached or attached to the skeleton, they were trapped or implanted in the skin and thus formed a defense wall or shield that protected the dinosaur's body. Some researchers believe that these plaques were covered with thick, richly vascularized skin, which helps the animal control its heat exchange with the environment. From this point of view, their function has been compared to that of today's elephant ears. The spines on the tail of this Dacentrurus were similar to the horns of bulls, and their role was definitely to combat the attack from a predatory dinosaur. Any blow applied with its tail could cause very serious wounds on the body of any animal living at that time.
The hind limbs were very long and robust, had large bones, broad thighs, strong muscular inserts, and the forelimbs were slightly smaller but developed enough for the gait of this dinosaur to be quadruped. All four limbs ended with strong paws, thick fingers and hoofed claws.
Dacentrurus Food
Because the teeth of this large herbivore did not cope with the process of shredding pieces of vegetables, they were swallowed stomach stones called gastroliths that with the help of cut edges grind the pieces of plants inside the stomach. When the stones were shredded they were thrown out and replaced with new ones with sharper edges and more suitable for this purpose.
