In Depth Nodocephalosaurus was described in 1999 from a partial skull but still managed to make news amongst palaeontologists because it was unlike other North American ankylosaurs. In fact the shape of the skull of Nodocephalosaurus is actually more like the skulls of the ankylosaurs Saichania and Tarchia, both currently only known from central Asia. … Read more
In Depth At the time of the description in 2017, Zuul was the best preserved ankylosaurine ankylosaur ever found in North America. Not only was the skull and post cranial skeleton mostly complete, many of the armoured plates that adorned its back were still present. The type species name, Z. crurivastator, is Latin and basically … Read more
In Depth Jinyunpelta is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia around the early/late Cretaceous boundary. The presence of Jinyunpelta at that time suggests that it was among the first ankylosaurid dinosaur genera to have evolved a tail club. Further Reading - The most basal ankylosaurine dinosaur from the Albian-Cenomanian of China, with … Read more
In Depth Crichtonpelta was originally named as a second species of the ankylosaur Crichtonsaurus, however in 2014 the holotype skull of this species was re-described as distinct genus, making the species become a genus. Both Crichtonpelta and Crichtonsaurus were named in memory of Michael Crichton, the world famous novelist who in palaeontoligcal circles is best … Read more
In Depth Scolosaurus was quick to become one of the better known ankylosaurid dinosaurs of the second half of the early twentieth century, at times rivalling even Ankylosaurus in popular media about dinosaurs. This was thanks largely to the relatively complete preservation of the holotype individual was considerably higher than most other ankylosaurids known at … Read more
In Depth Ahshislepelta is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur that lived in North America during the late Cretaceous. Unfortunately the partial remains of Ahshislepelta which include a shoulder girdle, partial left forelimb, vertebrae and osteoderms (the bony armour) are not enough to identify the genus as either a general ankylosaurid or a more derived ankylosaurine. … Read more
In Depth Akainacephalus is a genus of ankylosaur that lived in North America during the late Cretaceous. During this time, the central portion of North America was submerged by the Western Interior Seaway, carving North America into two landmasses; Appalacia to the East, and Laramidia to the West. Akainacephalus hails from the southern portion of … Read more