ArticleProceedings. Biological sciences2018
The evolution of tail weaponization in amniotes.
Article in Proceedings. Biological sciences, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Tail of defence: an almost complete tail skeleton ofRoyal Society open science · 2025Article
- Palaeopathological evidence for intraspecific combat in ankylosaurid dinosaurs.Biology letters · 2022Article
- Article
- Modeling intervertebral articulation: The rotule à doigt mechanical joint (RAD) in birds and mammals.Journal of anatomy · 2021Article
- Predictive simulations of running gait reveal a critical dynamic role for the tail in bipedal dinosaur locomotion.Science advances · 2021Article
- Dinosaur biodiversity declined well before the asteroid impact, influenced by ecological and environmental pressures.Nature communications · 2021Article
- Article
- Armed stem to stinger: a review of the ecological roles of scorpion weapons.The journal of venomous animals and toxins including tropical diseases · 2021Review
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
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Abstract
Weaponry, for the purpose of intraspecific combat or predator defence, is one of the most widespread animal adaptations, yet the selective pressures and constraints governing its phenotypic diversity and skeletal regionalization are not well understood. Here, we investigate the evolution of tail weaponry in amniotes, a rare form of weaponry that nonetheless evolved independently among a broad spectrum of life including mammals, turtles and dinosaurs. Using phylogenetic comparative methods, we test for links between morphology, ecology and behaviour in extant amniotes known to use the tail as a weapon, and in extinct taxa bearing osseous tail armaments. We find robust ecological and morphological correlates of both tail lashing behaviour and bony tail weaponry, including large body size, body armour and herbivory, suggesting these life-history parameters factor into the evolution of antipredator behaviours and tail armaments. We suggest that the evolution of tail weaponry is rare because large, armoured herbivores are uncommon in extant terrestrial faunas, as they have been throughout evolutionary history.
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