剑龙遗骸最早由奥塞内尔·查利斯·马什在骨头大战期间发现于恐龙岭(英语:Dinosaur Ridge)国家地标(Dinosaur Ridge National Landmark)。第一批已知骨骼过于零碎,因此这种动物的真实面貌(包括姿势与骨板的排列方式)在多年以后才得到深入了解。尽管剑龙在书籍和电影中很受欢迎,但其骨骼直到20世纪中期才成为大型自然历史博物馆的主要展品,由于缺乏完整骨骼,许多博物馆被迫将多个不同标本进行“拼接”来进行展示。剑龙是一种广为人所知的恐龙,在电影、邮票和其它媒体中都有出现。
剑龙是发现于骨头大战期间的恐龙物种之一,由奥塞内尔·查利斯·马什在1877年根据科罗拉多州莫里逊北部发现的遗骸所命名。[2]这些最早发现的骨骼后来成为该属的正模标本。马什将其叙述成类似海龟的水生动物,并将属名取为Stegosaurus,意为“屋顶蜥蜴”(由古希腊文中代表“屋顶”的στέγη/stégi或代表“(如屋瓦一般)紧密铺设覆盖”的στέγω/stégō,以及代表蜥蜴的σαῦρος/saûros组成),因为他最初认为这些骨板平铺在动物背上,像屋顶上的瓦片般重叠。在接下来的几年里,人们发现了大量剑龙化石,马什也在1877年至1897年间发表了几篇关于剑龙的论文。[3]1878年,爱德华·德林克·科普(Edward Drinker Cope)根据花园公园(英语:Garden Park, Colorado)乳头山附近科普3号采石场中的化石碎片而命名了另一种剑龙类――Hypsirhophus。[4]后期研究人员通常认为Hypsirhophus是剑龙的异名,[3]尽管彼得·加尔东在2010年指出两者的椎骨存在差异。[5]
下一个被命名的剑龙物种是马氏剑龙(S. marshi),由弗雷德里克·卢卡斯(Frederick Lucas)叙述于1901年。卢卡斯在同年晚些时候将该物种建立为新属装甲龙。卢卡斯还重新研究了剑龙的生前外观问题并得出结论:骨板成对排列,沿背部分成两排且位于肋骨基部上方。卢卡斯委托查尔斯·耐特(英语:Charles R. Knight)(Charles R. Knight)根据他的新解释制作蹄足剑龙的复原图。然而,卢卡斯在第二年写道,他现在相信剑龙的骨板可能是交错排列的。[3]1910年,理查德·斯旺·卢尔(英语:Richard Swann Lull)(Richard Swann Lull)认为狭脸剑龙的骨板交替形式可能是由于死后的骨骼移所位造成。他在皮博迪自然史博物馆(Peabody Museum of Natural History)带领众人建成有史以来第一座剑龙骨架,并将骨板成对摆放。[3]查尔斯·惠特尼·吉尔摩(Charles Wihtney Gilmore)于1914年对卢尔的解释表示反对,并指出一些狭脸剑龙标本(包括现已完全准备好的正模标本)的骨板皆成排交替保存并靠近背部顶端,且没有证据表明骨板位置在石化过程中发生过移动。[3]吉尔摩和卢卡斯的解释成为普遍接受的标准。1924年,皮博迪博物馆的剑龙骨架亦被改动以反映这一点。[6]
大多数已知的剑龙信息来自于成年遗骸,不过目前已有幼龙化石发现。1994年在怀俄明州发现的一件亚成体标本长4.6米(15.1英尺),高2米(6.6英尺),其生前可能重达2.4公吨(2.6短吨),现展示于怀俄明大学地质学博物馆(英语:University of Wyoming Geological Museum)(University of Wyoming Geological Museum)。[36]
马什于1891年发表了他对剑龙骨骼的精确重建,十年内剑龙就成为了插图最多的恐龙之一。画家查尔斯·耐特(英语:Charles R. Knight)在1897年11月的一期《世纪杂志(英语:The Century Magazine)》上发表了第一幅根据马什的研究所制成的蹄足剑龙插图。此图后来成为1933年电影《金刚》中使用的定格动画的基础。[87]耐特的第一张复原图中只画了一排骨板,不过,他于1901年在弗里德里希·卢卡斯的指导下创作了一幅更为著名的作品,并画出了两排骨板。同样,在卢卡斯的领导下,耐特于两年后再次修改上一版本,制作出一个具有双排交错骨板的模型。1927年,耐特为菲尔德自然历史博物馆绘制了一幅具有双排交错骨板的剑龙复原图,该形象被鲁道夫·F·扎林格(英语:Rudolph F. Zallinger)所遵循,此人也在1947年皮博迪博物馆的“爬行动物时代”壁画中将剑龙画成了这种形象。[87]
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