Like modern-day lizards like thorny devils, several dinosaur species had spikes on their backs. Most of these were slow, lumbering behemoths with armor covered with spikes, including stegosaurs, ankylosaurs, and nodosaurs.
List of Dinosaurs With Spikes on Their Backs
- Alamosaurus sanjuanensis
- Amargasaurus cazaui
- Ankylosaurus magniventris
- Argentinosaurus huinculensis
- Bajadasaurus pronuspinax
- Cedarpelta bilbeyhallorum
- Ceratosaurus nasicornis
- Ceratosaurus dentisulcatus
- Ceratosaurus magnicornis
- Chungkingosaurus jiangbeiensis
- Dacentrurus armatus
- Dicraeosaurus hansemanni
- Dicraeosaurus sattleri
- Edmontonia longiceps
- Edmontonia rugosidens
- Emausaurus ernsti
- Euoplocephalus tutus
- Gargoyleosaurus parkpinorum
- Gastonia burgei
- Gastonia lorriemcwhinneyae
- Gobisaurus domoculus
- Hesperosaurus mjosi
- Huayangosaurus taibaii
- Hylaeosaurus armatus
- Kentrosaurus aethiopicus
- Minmi paravertebra
- Nodosaurus textilis
- Panoplosaurus mirus
- Pinacosaurus grangeri
- Polacanthus foxii
- Saichania chulsanensis
- Sauropelta edwardsorum
- Scelidosaurus harrisonii
- Scutellosaurus lawleri
- Shamosaurus scutatus
- Silvisaurus condrayi
- Stegosaurus ungulatus
- Stegosaurus sulcatus
- Struthiosaurus austriacus
- Struthiosaurus transylvanicus
- Struthiosaurus languedocensis
- Talarurus plicatospineus
- Tarchia kielanae
- Tarchia teresae
- Tarchia tumanovae
- Tsagantegia longicranialis
- Tuojiangosaurus multispinus
- Yingshanosaurus jichuanensis
What Purpose Did These Spikes Serve
The exact purpose of a dinosaur’s spikes is yet to be determined but can be speculated on.
- Most of these dinosaurs were herbivores that were preyed upon by carnivorous species. These spikes could have served as a potential defense against predators.
- Some species, like Stegosaurus, are believed to have used the large back plates to regulate their body temperature.
- Since the type of spikes varied from species to species, another hypothesis can be made that the dinosaurs used their back spikes to identify fellow members of their species.
How Do Paleontologists Determine Whether or Not a Dinosaur Had Spikes
- Some of these dinosaurs had spikes made of hard bone that got preserved along with the rest of their skeleton when they were fossilized. This made it easy for paleontologists to discern the presence of spikes and where they were present on these species. For instance, this is true for both ankylosaurs and stegosaurs.
- For those with spikes made of keratin, impressions on the spine within the skeleton might indicate their presence in these dinosaurs.
- Also, a dinosaur may share several characteristics with another one with spikes on its back. In that case, if the skeletal features of the two were to be compared, this might reveal the presence of spikes in the former.
FAQs
1. Were there two-legged dinosaurs that had spikes on their backs? While most spiked-back dinosaurs were four-legged, the two-legged ceratosaurs had a series of spikes running down their vertebrae.
2. Were there any long-necked dinosaurs that had spikes on their backs? Several dinosaurs with long necks had spiky backs, including the largest of them – Argentinosaurus huinculensis.
