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| Bighorn Ram v Prenocephale prenes | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 30 2018, 01:41 PM (365 Views) | |
| Taipan | Mar 30 2018, 01:41 PM Post #1 |
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Bighorn Ram - Ovis canadensis The bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) is a species of sheep in North America named for its large horns. These horns can weigh up to 30 pounds (14 kg), while the sheep themselves weigh up to 300 pounds (140 kg). Ovis canadensis is one of three species of mountain sheep in North America and Siberia; the other two species being Ovis dalli, which includes Dall Sheep and Stone's Sheep, and the Siberian snow sheep Ovis nivicola. Wild sheep crossed the Bering land bridge from Siberia during the Pleistocene (~750,000 years ago) and subsequently spread through western North America as far south as Baja California and northwestern mainland Mexico. Bighorn sheep are named for the large, curved horns borne by the rams (males). Ewes (females) also have horns, but they are shorter with less curvature. They range in color from light brown to grayish or dark, chocolate brown, with a white rump and lining on the back of all four legs. Males typically weigh 127–316 pounds (58–143 kg), are 36–41 inches (91–100 cm) tall at the shoulder, and 69–79 inches (180–200 cm) long from the nose to the tail. Females are typically 75–188 pounds (34–85 kg), 30–36 inches (76–91 cm) tall and 54–67 inches (140–170 cm) long. Male bighorn sheep have large horn cores, enlarged cornual and frontal sinuses and internal bony septa. These adaptations serve to protect the brain by absorbing the impact of clashes. ![]() Prenocephale prenes Prenocephale was a small pachycephalosaurid dinosaur genus from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) of Mongolia and was similar in many ways to its close relative, Homalocephale, which may simply represent Prenocephale juveniles. Adult Prenocephale probably weighed around 130 kilograms (290 lb) and measured around 2.4 metres (8 ft) long. Unlike the flattened wedge-shaped skull of Homalocephale (a possible juvenile trait also potentially seen in early growth stages of Pachycephalosaurus), the head of Prenocephale was rounded and sloping. The dome had a row of small bony spikes and bumps. It lived in what is now Mongolia, but in high upland forests, not the dry deserts of Mongolia today.Like some other pachycephalosaurs, Prenocephale is known only from skulls and a few other small bones. For this reason, reconstructions usually depict Prenocephale as sharing the basic body plan common to all of the other Pachycephalosauria: a stout body with a short, thick neck, short forelimbs and tall hind legs. The head of Prenocephale was comparable to that of Stegoceras, albeit with closed supratemporal fenestrae. Also, the paired grooves above the supraorbitals/prefrontals (along with a posterior parietal that restricts the frontal dome) are absent in Prenocephale. ![]()
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| Palaeoscincus | Apr 2 2018, 11:42 AM Post #2 |
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Heterotrophic Organism
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I always wondered who would be the better head banger between a similar sized ram and pachycephalosaur. I think the ram would have an advantage in stability, and the fact that the area of the horns that feel the impact of the blows isn't directly on the skull unlike a pachycephalosaur might help it absorb the shock of the impact better. But maybe the smaller surface area of the dinosaurs skull would allow it to generate more force? Also, I don't think they were able to use their forelimbs to grapple, but if they could that would certainly be an advantage Prenocephale could possibly use here. Edited by Palaeoscincus, Apr 2 2018, 11:42 AM.
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| Lightning | Apr 2 2018, 11:54 AM Post #3 |
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Omnivore
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At average weights, the prenocephale wins due to size advantage and greater durability. At equal weights, the ram wins due to better stability. |
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| Palaeoscincus | Apr 2 2018, 11:59 AM Post #4 |
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Heterotrophic Organism
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I've heard bighorn rams from some parts of the Rockies average around 300 lbs. So not sure the average weight would be very different, unless a small subspecies like the desert bighorn were used. |
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| Lightning | Apr 2 2018, 12:02 PM Post #5 |
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Omnivore
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Is it? I think the ram wins at average weights too then. |
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| Ausar | Apr 2 2018, 12:04 PM Post #6 |
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Xi-miqa-can! Xi-miqa-can! Xi-miqa-can!
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I think there's more to stability than simply how many legs you have to stand on... That said, if neither is substantially larger than the other, I can't see a reason to favor one over the other. |
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| Palaeoscincus | Apr 2 2018, 12:09 PM Post #7 |
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Heterotrophic Organism
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True, and neither I or Hash said anything about leg stance=stability. I think the ram is more stable due to a more heavyset build. At least from skeletal constructions I've seen of Prenocephale, it seems more thin although maybe the reconstructions aren't 100% full-proof. Edited by Palaeoscincus, Apr 2 2018, 12:12 PM.
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| Ausar | Apr 2 2018, 12:20 PM Post #8 |
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Xi-miqa-can! Xi-miqa-can! Xi-miqa-can!
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Then why didn't you say so in the first place? |
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| Lightning | Apr 2 2018, 12:37 PM Post #9 |
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Omnivore
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Wait, if they kept headbutting each other for a long time, are the ram's horns more likely to get badly damaged or broken than the dinosaur's dome? |
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| Ausar | Apr 2 2018, 12:47 PM Post #10 |
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Xi-miqa-can! Xi-miqa-can! Xi-miqa-can!
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Maybe if they hit the distal ends of the horns, but that depends on how much "give" there would be in any given scenario. I don't expect those ends of the horns to be commonly impacted either. |
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