Stegosaurus chirality
نویسندگان
چکیده
Introduction Most living things appear rather symmetrical: the external human form, for example, has a plane of mirror symmetry to good approximation. Snails, flounders, narwhals, crossbills, fiddler crabs and twining vines are members of the short but fascinating list of living things known instead to defy mirror symmetry by exhibiting exterior chirality. The study of this symmetry breaking lies at the cutting edge of developmental and evolutionary biology. We have recently extended the aforementioned list by adding one of the most recognisable genera of dinosaurs: Stegosaurus. Here we summarise our research to date into Stegosaurus chirality.
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Were there two forms of Stegosaurus?
We recognise that Stegosaurus exhibited exterior chirality and could, therefore, have assumed either of two distinct, mirror-image forms. Our preliminary investigations suggest that both existed. Stegosaurus’s exterior chirality raises new questions such as the validity of well-known exhibits whilst offering new insights into long-standing questions such as the function of the plates. We inform...
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