![]() It is more likely, however, that much of the sacral cavity was used for storing glycogen, as is the case in many present-day animals. The spinal cord in the region of the sacrum was enlarged and was actually larger than the brain, a fact that gave rise to the misconception that Stegosaurus possessed two brains. These are presumed to have served as defensive weapons, but they may have been ornamental. Two pairs of pointed bony spikes were present on the end of the tail. This hypothesis proposes that the plates acted as radiators, releasing body heat to a cooler ambient environment conversely, the plates could also have collected heat by being faced toward the sun like living solar panels. Because the plates contained many blood vessels, the alternating placement appears consistent with a hypothesis of thermoregulation. However, new discoveries and reexamination of existing Stegosaurus specimens since the 1970s suggest that the plates alternated along the backbone, as no two plates from the same animal have exactly the same shape or size. Paleontologists had long thought that Stegosaurus had two parallel rows of plates, either staggered or paired, and that these afforded protection to the animal’s backbone and spinal cord. Various hypotheses have attempted to explain the arrangement and use of the plates.
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