African Bush Elephant vs Stegosaurus

[Tyrannosaurus]

The Stegosaurus wouldn't be attacking, it'd be defending and operating on instinct.

[Ultimategrid]

Feb 25, 2012 13:48:29 GMT -5 Tyrannosaurus said:

The Stegosaurus wouldn't be attacking, it'd be defending and operating on instinct.

then it would be overwhelmed, and killed.

Most reptiles do poorly when they are defensive.

[Tyrannosaurus]

Stegosaurus isn't a reptile, it was clearly designed for defense. And since when is that true? Reptiles are generally better at defending then attacking! Snakes are great defenders. Crocodiles would never attack lions on land, but they could fend them off pretty effectively.

[Ultimategrid]

Feb 25, 2012 13:55:43 GMT -5 Tyrannosaurus said:

Stegosaurus isn't a reptile. And since when is that true? They're generally better at defending then attacking! Snakes are great defenders. Crocodiles would never attack lions on land, but they could fend them off pretty effectively.

Stegosaurus hasn't been proved to be otherwise, until you can show me proof that it's not a reptile, I'm calling it a reptile.

A defensive snake snaps its jaws, and strikes but doesn't try to kill. When a snake is in feeding mode it can often overpower animals it would try to flee from. When they're defensive they are often killed.

[Tyrannosaurus]

That's just because they have to defend against bigger animals

It's a pretty widely accepted consensus that Dinosaurs were endothermic, and many paleontologists consider them a separate class. That was first suggested in the 70s, the only reason it hasn't become official is because nobody wants to argue about semantics. Dinosaurs are really more diverse than mammals, and that's not even counting birds.

[Ultimategrid]

Feb 25, 2012 14:06:29 GMT -5 Tyrannosaurus said:

That's just because they have to defend against bigger animals

It's a pretty widely accepted consensus that Dinosaurs were endothermic, and many paleontologists consider them a separate class. That was first suggested in the 70s, the only reason it hasn't become official is because nobody wants to argue about semantics. Dinosaurs are really more diverse than mammals, and that's not even counting birds.

Anacondas have been killed by jaguars that they can easily overpower due to an overwhelming defensive instinct. It is clear that a more intelligent opponent is preferable in fights such as these.
Especially when one combatant is a highly intelligent social animal, and the other is a lumbering beast with a brain the size of a walnut.

[Anomonyous]

Snakes will sometimes constrict in a defensive position, (most notable the hangman's noose picture) although they mainly just bite.

How can an animal that relies purely on instinct when defending itself reign supreme over a more intelligent, better armed, larger, and faster opponent?

[Tyrannosaurus]

Ugh, you're making this to convoluted. Point is, a Stego's tail swipe would do a lot of damage, and it can strike faster than the elephant, who must gain momentum with a charge.

[Anomonyous]

An elephant's tusks do more damage than a stegosaurus' spikes.
Elephants do not need to charge to do damage, although it helps. Of course, that's not including all of the elephant's other weapons.
Every detail should be considered in a fight, and certainly the ones we're debating here are no minor ones. Against an opponent that is on the defensive, greater intelligence & the ability to form tactics is a powerful weapon.

[Tyrannosaurus]

An elephant turning it's head will not get nearly as much momentum as a stego swinging it's tail, nor is it as fast. A charge will probably do a lot of damage but the elephant would have to break away and get a run at it.

Even if you stabbed with the same force, one stego spike would probably do more damage than an elephant tusk, on account of being sharp and strait. In any case, it's 4-2.

[Anomonyous]

Elephant tusks vary in sharpness, so that would depend on the individual elephant.

In any case, however, these things are huge. An elephant tusk may weigh up to 200 pounds in a fully grown bull. A simple headbutt would be plenty enough to stab into stegosaurus' vital organs and arteries. A charge would completely demolish it (it's 7 tons of elephant running at 25 mph driving at least 50 pounds of tusk in). On account of the tusk's weight, a stegosaurus spike and an elephant tusk being rammed in with the same force (presumably, behind it) will not do equal amounts of damage. Also, although stegosaurus has 4 spikes, only 2 can be driven in, since there are 2 on each side.

Of course, all this is pretty pointless if stegosaurus can't use its thagomizer in the first place.

[Tyrannosaurus]

Stegosaurus can use it's thagomizer, it's an obvious weapon. Idk what's up with those studies that try to say it can't.

The orientation of the spikes isn't known, but the tail was pretty flexible. Flexible enough to cover it's flanks.

[Anomonyous]

Of course Stegosaurus can use its thagomizer as a weapon. If it couldn't, I would've made a point of that a long time ago. No, I'm asking, can the thagomzier hit the elephant?

Perhaps my wording should have been clearer.

[Reticulatus]

It looks like it might hit the elephants legs the majority of the time.

[Anomonyous]

Or maybe not, since the much more intelligent elephant would be at stegosaurus' head and not at its tail trying to get itself killed.