Ankylosaurus

Pronounced - ang-KIE-lo-SAWR-us Named By - Barnum Brown When Named - 1908
DIET:	Herbivore (plant-eater) - Ankylosaurus had to eat a huge amount of low-lying plant material to sustain itself so its gut must have been very large. It probably had a fermentation compartment to aid in the digestion of the tough plant material, producing prodigious amounts of gas!
SIZE:	Length - 25-35 feet (7.5-10.7 m) long Height - 4 ft (1.2 m) tall at the hips Weight - 3-4 tons
WHEN IT LIVED:	Late Cretaceous period, about 70-65 million years ago
WHERE IT LIVED:	Ankylosaurus fossils have been found in the western USA (Montana) and Canada (Alberta), North America.
FOSSILS:	Two Ankylosaurus skulls and three partial skeletons (including armor and a tail club) have been found. Ankylosaur trackways were found near Sucre, Bolivia, South America.
CLASSIFICATION:	Kingdom Animalia (animals) Phylum Chordata (having a hollow nerve chord ending in a brain) Class Archosauria (diapsids with socket-set teeth, etc.) Order Ornithischia - bird-hipped dinosaurs Suborder Thyreophora (Enoplosauria) - armored, spiked and/or plated dinosaurs Superfamily Ankylosauria - armored dinosaurs Family Ankylosauridae - armored dinosaurs that have clubbed tails Genus Ankylosaurus Species A. magniventris (type species named by Brown, 1908)
INTERESTING FACTS:	Ankylosaurus was a tank-like dinosaur - its entire top side was heavily protected from carnivores with thick, oval plates embedded (fused) in its leathery skin, 2 rows of spikes along its body, large horns that projected from the back of the head, and a club-like tail. It even had bony plates as protection for its eyes. Only its under-belly was unplated. Among its contemporaries were the large meat-eating Tyrannosaurus, Tarbosaurus, and Deinonychus. Short of being flipped over, the Ankylosaurus was well protected from these predators, and could even defend itself with its club-like tail.
LINKS:	A detailed page on Ankylosaurus. Ankylosaurus information page to print and color.