The Fall 2025 Biology Seminar Series commences with a talk from Dr. Michael Habib, "Unbreakable: Dinosaur Armor Biomechanics."
Among the most unmistakable and fascinating dinosaurs were the Thyreophorans - literally 鈥渟hield bearers鈥 - the armored dinosaurs. Covered in an array of plates, spikes, ridges, and more, these animals have long been understood as being covered with a stiff, bony armor. Our understanding of dinosaur amor fundamentally changed in 2017 with the description of Borealopelta markmitchelli. The extraordinary holotype preserves not only the bony cores of the armor, but also the keratin sheaths - demonstrating conclusively that the armor of dinosaurs was not the stiff, brittle stuff imagined in the early 1900鈥檚, but instead, it was a complex composite of bone and keratin capable of absorbing immense amounts of energy. This presentation will share the latest work modeling the mechanics of dinosaur armor and its implications for understanding the behavior of armored dinosaurs.
