Thyreophorans
by Renee R.
Thyreophorans are a group of Ornithischian Dinosaurs with body armor. Some Thyreophorans have spikes on their tails and bodies, as well as armor. They were all vertebrates, meaning they had a back bone and skull. They were also gnathostomes, or they had a jaw. They evolved four limbs, making them tetrapods. They evolved a water tight egg, next, making them members of the amniotes clade. The next trait they evolved was a pair of openings in their palate, becoming sauropsids. Then, they evolved a hole in the hip socket, becoming part of the group known as dinosaurs. The next group they became was ornithischians, evolving a backward-pointing extension of the pubis bone in the hip. Then they became Thyreophorans with bony body armor. The stegosaurus, shamosaurus, and sauropelta are three examples on our class cladogram. These three animals use their armor for protecting themselves against predators.
Last updated April 7, 2007.