Ankylosaurus Vector ————————————————————————— Control: A-> Roar 1 N-> Roar 2 K-> Roar 3 Y-> Call 1 L-> Call 2 O-> Call 3 —————————Description——————————— Ankylosaurus is a genus of armored dinosaur. Its fossils have been found in geological formations dating to the very end of the Cretaceous Period, about 68–66 million years ago, in western North America, making it among the last of the non-avian dinosaurs. It was named by Barnum Brown in 1908; it is monotypic, containing only A. magniventris. The generic name means "fused" or "bent lizard", and the specific name means "great belly". A handful of specimens have been excavated to date, but a complete skeleton has not been discovered. Though other members of Ankylosauria are represented by more extensive fossil material, Ankylosaurus is often considered the archetypal member of its group, despite having some unusual features. Possibly the largest known ankylosaurid, Ankylosaurus is estimated to have been between 6 and 8 m (20 and 26 ft) long and to have weighed between 4.8 and 8 t (5.3 and 8.8 short tons). It was quadrupedal, with a broad, robust body. It had a wide, low skull, with two horns pointing backward from the back of the head, and two horns below these that pointed backward and down. Unlike other ankylosaurs, its nostrils faced sideways rather than towards the front. The front part of the jaws was covered in a beak, with rows of small, leaf-shaped teeth farther behind it. It was covered in armor plates, or osteoderms, with bony half-rings covering the neck, and had a large club on the end of its tail. Bones in the skull and other parts of the body were fused, increasing their strength, and this feature is the source of the genus name. Ankylosaurus is a member of the family Ankylosauridae, and its closest relatives appear to be Anodontosaurus and Euoplocephalus. Ankylosaurus is thought to have been a slow-moving animal, able to make quick movements when necessary. Its broad muzzle indicates it was a non-selective browser. Sinuses and nasal chambers in the snout may have been for heat and water balance or may have played a role in vocalization. The tail club is thought to have been used in defense against predators or in intraspecific combat. Specimens of Ankylosaurus have been found in the Hell Creek, Lance, Scollard, Frenchman, and Ferris formations, but it appears to have been rare in its environment. Although it lived alongside Denversaurus, a nodosaurid ankylosaur, their ranges and ecological niches do not appear to have overlapped, and Ankylosaurus may have inhabited upland areas. Ankylosaurus also lived alongside dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, and Edmontosaurus. Ankylosaurus was the largest-known ankylosaurine dinosaur and possibly the largest ankylosaurid. In 2004 Carpenter estimated that the individual with the largest-known skull (specimen CMN 8880), which is 64.5 cm (2 ft 1.4 in) long and 74.5 cm (2 ft 5.3 in) wide, was about 6.25 m (20 ft 6 in) long and had a hip height of about 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in). The smallest-known skull (specimen AMNH 5214) is 55.5 cm (1 ft 9.9 in) long and 64.5 cm (2 ft 1.4 in) wide, and Carpenter estimated that it measured about 5.4 m (17 ft 9 in) long and about 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) tall at the hips. The English paleontologist Roger B. J. Benson and colleagues estimated the weight for AMNH 5214 at 4.78 t (5.27 short tons) in 2014. In 2017, based on comparisons with more complete ankylosaurines, Arbour and Mallon estimated a length of 7.56 to 9.99 m (24 ft 9+1⁄2 in to 32 ft 9+1⁄2 in) for CMN 8880, and 6.02 to 7.95 m (19 ft 9 in to 26 ft 1 in) for AMNH 5214. Though the latter is the smallest specimen of Ankylosaurus, its skull is still larger than those of any other ankylosaurins. A few other ankylosaurs reached about 6 m (20 ft) in length. Because the vertebrae of AMNH 5214 are not significantly larger than those of other ankylosaurines, Arbour and Mallon considered their upper range estimate of nearly 10 meters (33 ft) for large Ankylosaurus too long, and suggested a length of 8 m (26 ft) instead. Arbour and Mallon estimated a weight of 4.78 t (5.27 short tons) for AMNH 5214, and tentatively estimated the weight of CMN 8880 at 7.95 t (8.76 short tons). ——————————Credits——————————— Earth Wikipedia Museum Scientists Cretaceous Ankylosaurus Raptor_Saurus If Used, Credit Me. Music: Path of Titans —————————————————————————
