Ankylosaurus Fossil range: Late Cretaceous
Conservation status
Extinct (fossil)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Sauropsida Superorder: Dinosauria Order: Ornithischia Suborder: Thyreophora Infraorder: Ankylosauria Family: Ankylosauridae Genus: Ankylosaurus Species: A. magniventris
Binomial name
Ankylosaurus magniventris Brown, 1908

Ankylosaurus (pronounced /æŋˈkɪloʊˌsɔɹəs/ or /æŋˈkaɪloʊˌsɔɹəs/, meaning 'stiffened lizard') is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur, containing one species, A. magniventris. Fossils of Ankylosaurus are found in geologic formations dating to the very end of the Cretaceous Period in western North America. Geography of the US in the late Cretaceous Late Cretaceous (also called the Upper Cretaceous) refers to the second half of the Cretaceous period, named after the famous white chalk cliffs of southern England, which date from this time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 422 pixels Full resolution (1200 × 633 pixel, file size: 637 KB, MIME type: image/png) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Ankylosaurus Wikipedia:WikiProject Dinosaurs/Image... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Three small ammonite fossils, each approximately 1. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Animalia redirects here. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Clades Subclass Anapsida Subclass Diapsida Infraclass Lepidosauromorpha Infraclass Archosauromorpha Sauropsids are a diverse group of mostly egg-laying vertebrate animals. ... Orders & Suborders Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Theropoda Ornithischia Thyreophora Ornithopoda Marginocephalia Dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 160 million years, first appearing approximately 230 million years ago. ... Suborders Thyreophora Cerapoda    Ornithopoda    Marginocephalia Ornithischia is an order of beaked, herbivorous dinosaurs. ... Subclades Ankylosauria Stegosauria Scelidosauridae The Thyreophora (Shield Bearers) were the group of armored plant-eating dinosaurs, living from the early Jurassic until the end of the Cretaceous. ... Families Nodosauridae Ankylosauridae The Ankylosauria, less formally known as the ankylosaurians, were a group of ornithischian (bird-hipped) dinosaurs that lived in the late Cretaceous period. ... Ankylosauridae were a family of armored dinosaurs that evolved 125 million years ago (along with another family of ankylosaurs, the Nodosauridae) and died 65 million years ago at the Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction Event. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Barnum Brown (1873-1963) was perhaps the most famous fossil hunter of the early Twentieth Century. ... Not to be confused with the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... For other uses of the word, please see Genus (disambiguation). ... Ankylosauridae were a family of armored dinosaurs that evolved 125 million years ago (along with another family of ankylosaurs, the Nodosauridae) and died 65 million years ago at the Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction Event. ... Orders & Suborders Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Theropoda Ornithischia Thyreophora Ornithopoda Marginocephalia Dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 160 million years, first appearing approximately 230 million years ago. ... In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... Three small ammonite fossils, each approximately 1. ... A geologic formation is a formally named rock stratum or geological unit. ... The Cretaceous Period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic Period (i. ... A geologic period is a subdivision of geologic time that divides an era into smaller timeframes. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ...

Although a complete skeleton has not been discovered and several other species are represented by more extensive fossil material, Ankylosaurus is often considered the archetypal armored dinosaur. Other ankylosaurids shared its well-known features, like the heavily-armored body and massive bony tail club, but Ankylosaurus was the largest member of its family. For other senses of this word, see archetype (disambiguation). ... Armour in animals is external or superficial protection against attack by predators, formed as part of the body (rather than the behavioural use of protective external objects), usually through the hardening of body tissues, outgrowths or secretions. ...

Paleobiology

A full-grown Ankylosaurus was a very large animal, compared to the majority of modern land animals. Some scientists have estimated a length of 9 meters (30 ft.).^[1] Another reconstruction suggests a significantly smaller size, at 6.25 m (20.5 ft) long, up to 1.5 m (5 ft) wide and about 1.7 m (5.5 ft) high at the hip. The body shape was low-slung and very wide. Ankylosaurus was quadrupedal, with the hindlimbs longer than the forelimbs. Although its feet are still unknown to science, comparisons with other ankylosaurs suggest Ankylosaurus probably had five toes on each foot. The skull was low and triangular in shape, wider than it was long. The largest known skull measures 64.5 centimeters (25 in) long and 74.5 cm (29 in) wide. Like other ankylosaurs, Ankylosaurus was herbivorous, with very small, leaf-shaped teeth suitable for cropping vegetation. Ankylosaurus did not share the grinding tooth batteries of the contemporaneous ceratopsid and hadrosaurid dinosaurs, indicating that very little chewing occurred. Bones in the skull and other parts of the body were fused to increase their strength.^[2] The Zebra is an example of a quadruped. ... It has been suggested that temporal fenestra be merged into this article or section. ... A deer and two fawns feeding on some foliage A herbivore is often defined as any organism that eats only plants[1]. By that definition, many fungi, some bacteria, many animals, about 1% of flowering plants and some protists can be considered herbivores. ... Genera Centrosaurinae    Achelousaurus    Centrosaurus    Einiosaurus    Styracosaurus    Pachyrhinosaurus Ceratopsinae    Chasmosaurus    Diceratops    Pentaceratops    Protoceratops    Torosaurus    Triceratops Ceratopsids, or members of the Ceratopsidae, are a diverse group of marginocephalian dinosaurs like Triceratops and Styracosaurus. ... Genera Lambeosaurinae    Corythosaurus    Hypacrosaurus    Lambeosaurus    Parasaurolophus Hadrosaurinae    Anasazisaurus    Anatotitan    Edmontosaurus    Hadrosaurus    Maiasaura    Prosaurolophus    Saurolophus    Shantungosaurus Hadrosaurids or duck-billed dinosaurs are members of the family Hadrosauridae, and include ornithopods such as Edmontosaurus and Parasaurolophus. ...

Armor

The most obvious feature of Ankylosaurus is its armor, consisting of massive knobs and plates of bone, known as osteoderms, embedded in the skin. Osteoderms are also found in the skin of crocodiles, armadillos and some lizards. The bone was probably overlain by a tough, horny layer of keratin. These osteoderms ranged greatly in size, from wide, flat plates to small, round nodules. The plates were aligned in regular horizontal rows down the animal's neck, back, and hips, with the many smaller nodules protecting the areas between the large plates. Smaller plates may have been arranged on the limbs and tail. Compared to the slightly more ancient ankylosaurid Euoplocephalus, the plates of Ankylosaurus were very smooth in texture, without the high keels found on the armor of the contemporaneous nodosaurid Edmontonia. A row of flat, triangular spikes may have protruded laterally along each side of the tail. Tough, rounded scales protected the top of the skull, while four large pyramidal horns projected outwards from its rear corners.^[2] Osteoderms are a bony deposit forming a scale, plate, or other structure in the dermal layers of the skin. ... Genera Mecistops Crocodylus Osteolaemus See full taxonomy. ... Families Pampatheriidae (prehistoric) Glyptodontidae (prehistoric) Dasypodidae Armadillos are small placental mammals, known for having a bony armor shell. ... For other uses, see Lizard (disambiguation). ... Microscopy of keratin filaments inside cells. ... Species E. tutus ?E. acutosquameus Euoplocephalus (yu-op-lo-SEF-ah-lus) meaning well armored head (Greek euoplo = well-armed + kephale = head) was one of the largest of the ankylosaurian dinosaurs at about the size of a small elephant. ... Nodosauridae (Marsh, 1890) is a family of the ankylosaurian dinosaurs. ... Edmontonia (From Edmonton) lived in Edmonton, Canada in the Late Cretaceous. ... A pyramid is any three-dimensional structure where the upper surfaces are triangular and converge on one point. ...

Tail club

The famous tail club of Ankylosaurus was also composed of several large osteoderms, which were fused to the last few tail vertebrae. It was very heavy and supported by the last seven tail vertebrae, which interlocked to form a stiff rod at the base of the club. Thick tendons have been preserved, which attached to these vertebrae. These tendons were partially ossified (or bony) and were not very elastic, allowing great force to be transmitted to the end of the tail when it was swung. It seems to have been an active defensive weapon, capable of producing enough of a devastating impact to break the bones of an assailant.^[2] It has also been proposed that the tail club acted as a decoy for the head, although this idea is now largely discredited.^[3] A diagram of a thoracic vertebra. ... A tendon (or fatty) is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone, or muscle to muscle and is designed to withstand tension. ...

Environment

Ankylosaurus magniventris existed between 68 to 65.5 million years ago, in the latest Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period, and was one of the last dinosaurs to exist just prior to the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event. The type specimen is from the Hell Creek Formation of Montana, while other specimens have been found in the Lance Formation of Wyoming and the Scollard Formation in Alberta, Canada, all of which date to the very end of the Cretaceous.^[1] Mega-annum, usually abbreviated as Ma, is a unit of time equal to one million years. ... The Maastrichtian is the last age of the Cretaceous period, and therefore of the Mesozoic era. ... Geography of the US in the late Cretaceous Late Cretaceous (also called the Upper Cretaceous) refers to the second half of the Cretaceous period, named after the famous white chalk cliffs of southern England, which date from this time. ... Badlands near Drumheller, Alberta where erosion has exposed the KT boundary. ... Type specimens When a new species is discovered, more important than creating a new and unique name for the species is developing a reasonably detailed description. ... The Hell Creek Formation is the division of Upper Cretaceous rocks in North America. ... The Lance Formation is a division of Late Cretaceous rocks in the western United States. ... Official language(s) English Capital Cheyenne Largest city Cheyenne Area  Ranked 10th  - Total 97,818 sq mi (253,348 km²)  - Width 280 miles (450 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 0. ... The Scollard Formation is a division of Upper Cretaceous rocks found in Alberta, Canada. ... Motto: Fortis et liber(Latin) Strong and free Capital Edmonton Largest city Calgary Official languages English (see below) Government - Lieutenant-Governor Norman Kwong - Premier Ed Stelmach (PC) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 28 - Senate seats 6 Confederation September 1, 1905 (split from Northwest Territories) (8th [province]) Area Ranked...

The Lance, Hell Creek and Scollard Formations represent different sections of the western shore of the shallow sea that divided western and eastern North America during the Cretaceous. They represent a broad coastal plain, extending eastwards from the seaway to the newly-formed Rocky Mountains. These formations are composed largely of sandstone and mudstone, which have been attributed to floodplain environments.^[4][5][6] The Hell Creek is the best studied of these ancient environments. At the time, this region was subtropical, with a warm and humid climate. Many plant species were supported, primarily angiosperms, with less common conifers, ferns and cycads. An abundance of fossil leaves found at dozens of different sites indicates that the area was largely forested by small trees.^[7] The Western Interior Seaway, also called the Cretaceous Seaway and the North American Inland Sea, was a huge inland sea that split the continent of North America into two halves during most of the early and mid-Cretaceous period. ... Confectionary Company, see Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. ... Red sandstone interior of Lower Antelope Canyon, Arizona, worn smooth due to erosion by flash flooding over millions of years Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-size mineral or rock grains. ... Mudstone is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. ... Gravel floodplain of a glacial river near the Snow Mountains in Alaska, 1902. ... Subtropical (or semitropical) areas are those adjacent to the tropics, usually roughly defined as the ranges 23. ... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also angiosperms or Magnoliophyta) are one of the major groups of modern plants, comprising those that produce seeds in specialized reproductive organs called flowers, where the ovulary or carpel is enclosed. ... Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae - Pine family   Araucariaceae - Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae - Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family   Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ... Classes Psilotopsida Equisetopsida Marattiopsida Pteridopsida (Polypodiopsida) A fern is any one of a group of about 20,000 species of plants classified in the phylum or division Pteridophyta, also known as Filicophyta. ... Families Cycadaceae cycas family Stangeriaceae stangeria family Zamiaceae zamia family Leaves and male cone of Cycas revoluta Cycads are an ancient group of seed plants characterized by a large crown of compound leaves and a stout trunk. ...

Fossils of Ankylosaurus are very rare in these sediments, compared to Edmontosaurus and the super-abundant Triceratops, which make up most of the large herbivore fauna. Another ankylosaur, Edmontonia, is also found in the same formations. However, Ankylosaurus and Edmontonia seem to have been separated both geographically and ecologically. Ankylosaurus had a wide muzzle, perhaps used for non-selective grazing and may have been limited to the upland regions, away from the coast, while Edmontonia had a narrower muzzle, indicating a more selective diet and seems to have lived at lower elevations, closer to the coast.^[2] Species (type) Marsh, 1892 Sternberg, 1926 Synonyms Anatosaurus Lull & Wright, 1942 Edmontosaurus (ed-MON-toh-sawr-us) meaning Edmonton lizard (after where it was found, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and Greek sauros meaning lizard) was a hadrosaurid dinosaur genus from the Maastrichtian, the last stage of the Cretaceous Period, 71... Species (type) Marsh, 1890 Triceratops (IPA: ) was a herbivorous genus of ceratopsid dinosaur that lived during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period, around 68 to 65 million years ago (mya) in what is now North America. ... Grazing To feed on growing herbage, attached algae, or phytoplankton. ...

Classification

Ankylosaurus was named as the type genus of the family Ankylosauridae.^[8] Ankylosaurids are members of the larger taxon Ankylosauria, which also contains the nodosaurids. Ankylosaur phylogeny is a contentious topic, with several mutually exclusive analyses presented in recent years, so the exact position of Ankylosaurus within Ankylosauridae is unknown. Ankylosaurus and Euoplocephalus are often thought to be sister taxa.^[1] However, other analyses have found these genera in different positions.^[9][10] Further discoveries or research may clarify the situation. In zoological nomenclature, a type is a specimen or a taxon. ... Nodosauridae (Marsh, 1890) is a family of the ankylosaurian dinosaurs. ... This cladogram shows the relationship among various insect groups. ...

Discovery

Ankylosaurus was named by American paleontologist Barnum Brown, in 1908. The generic name is derived from the Greek words αγκυλος/ankulos ('curved') and σαυρος/sauros ('lizard'). Brown intended this name in the same sense as the medical term ankylosis, to refer to the stiffness produced by the fusion of many bones in the skull and body, so the name is often translated as 'stiffened lizard.' The type species is A. magniventris, from the Latin magnus ('great') and venter ('belly'), referring to the great width of the animal's body.^[8] A paleontologist carefully chips rock from a column of dinosaur vertebrae. ... Barnum Brown (1873-1963) was perhaps the most famous fossil hunter of the early Twentieth Century. ... Ankylosis, or Anchylosis is a stiffness of a joint, the result of injury or disease. ... Type specimens When a new species is discovered, more important than creating a new and unique name for the species is developing a reasonably detailed description. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ...

A team led by Brown discovered the type specimen of A. magniventris (AMNH 5895) in the Hell Creek Formation of Montana, in 1906. This consisted of the top of the skull, as well as vertebrae, ribs, part of the shoulder girdle and armor. Six years earlier, Brown found the skeleton of a large theropod dinosaur (AMNH 5866) in the Lance Formation of Wyoming. This specimen was named Dynamosaurus imperiosus in 1905 but is now thought to belong to Tyrannosaurus rex. Associated with AMNH 5866 were more than 75 osteoderms of various sizes, which were attributed to Dynamosaurus. However, these osteoderms are nearly identical in form to those of A. magniventris and most probably belong to this species. In 1910, while on an expedition to Alberta, Barnum Brown recovered his third specimen of A. magniventris (AMNH 5214), from the Scollard Formation. AMNH 5214 includes a complete skull and the first known tail club, as well as ribs, limb bones and armor. All three of the above specimens are now housed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The largest known skull of this animal (NMC 8880) was collected in Alberta by Charles M. Sternberg, in 1947 and is now housed at the Canadian Museum of Nature. Many other isolated bones, armor plates and teeth have been found over the years.^[2] Families See text Theropods (beast foot) are a group of bipedal, primarily carnivorous dinosaurs, belonging to the saurischian (lizard-hip) family. ... Binomial name Tyrannosaurus rex Osborn, 1905 Synonyms Manospondylus gigas Dynamosaurus imperiosus Dinotyrannus megagracilis Nanotyrannus lancensis? Tyrannosaurus (IPA pronunciation or ; from the Greek τυραννόσαυρος, meaning tyrant lizard) is a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaur. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... New York, NY redirects here. ... Charles Mortram Sternberg (1885 – 1981) was an American fossil collector and paleontologist, son of Charles Hazelius Sternberg. ... The east face of the Victoria Memorial Museum Building The Canadian Museum of Nature (French: Musée canadien de la nature) is a natural history museum in Ottawa, Canada. ...

In popular culture

Life reconstruction of Ankylosaurus from Walking with Dinosaurs.

Since its description in 1908, Ankylosaurus has been publicized as the archetypal armored dinosaur, and due to its easily recognizable appearance and the intense public interest in dinosaurs, Ankylosaurus has been a feature of worldwide popular culture for many years. A life-sized reconstruction of Ankylosaurus featured at the 1964 World's Fair in New York City greatly contributed to its popularity.^[2] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The factual accuracy of part of this article is disputed. ... Popular culture, sometimes called pop culture, (literally: the culture of the people) consists of widespread cultural elements in any given society. ... View of the New York Worlds Fair 1964/1965 as seen from the observation towers of the New York State pavilion. ...

Several motion picture series have featured ankylosaurs. Ankylosaurus has brief cameos in The Land Before Time series throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, though never a large part. Ankylosaurus is one of several types of dinosaur shown grazing together in the 2001 film Jurassic Park III. Ankylosaurus has also been featured on the television documentary miniseries Walking With Dinosaurs (1999), the beginning of the BBC Documentary Walking With Prehistoric Beasts (2003) and The Truth About Killer Dinosaurs (2005), both produced by the BBC. Ankylosaurs are also featured in the three volumes of Robert J. Sawyer's "Quintaglio Ascension" trilogy (Far-Seer, Fossil Hunter, and Foreigner), where they are known to the natives as "armorbacks." For other uses see film (disambiguation) Film refers to the celluliod media on which movies are printed Film — also called movies, the cinema, the silver screen, moving pictures, photoplays, picture shows, flicks, or motion pictures, — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as... The Land Before Time is an animated film, produced by Steven Spielbergs Amblin Entertainment, and directed by Don Bluth. ... The 1980s refers to the years of and between 1980 and 1989. ... The 1990s decade refers to the years from the start of 1990 to the end of 1999. ... Jurassic Park III is a 2001 film and sequel of The Lost World: Jurassic Park and the highly successful original Jurassic Park. ... The factual accuracy of part of this article is disputed. ... // Headline text Walking with Beasts is a 2001 six-part television documentary produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom, narrated by Kenneth Branagh. ... The Truth About Killer Dinosaurs is a two-part BBC documentary, presented by Bill Oddie, in which a group of scientists test out the strength of dinosaur weaponry using biomechanics. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion... Robert J. Sawyer is a Canadian science fiction writer, dubbed the dean of Canadian science fiction by the Ottawa Citizen in 1999. ...

References

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