In Depth Crichtonsaurus seems to have been a fairly small genus of ankylosaur that lived in China during the earlier stages of the Late Cretaceous period. As an ankylosaur Crichtonsaurus would have been a squat quadrupedal dinosaur that browsed upon low growing plants. At the time of writing two species of Crichtonsaurus have been identified … Read more
In Depth Shanxia is a genus of ankylosaur that lived in China during the Late Cretaceous. However not much fossil material is available and there is speculation that Shanxia may actually just be further remains of the genus Tianzhenosaurus. Further Reading - A new ankylosaurian dinosaur (Ornithischia: Ankylosauria) from the Upper Cretaceous of Shanxi Province, … Read more
In Depth When this genus was first discovered, only the posterior portion of an individual ankylosaur remained to be studied. It is thought the anterior half had been previously exposed by erosion and was now lost, though part of the skull and teeth were found. The rear half of the dinosaur, including the tail and … Read more
In Depth Minotaurasaurus was an Asian ankylosaurid dinosaur, presumably of the late Cretaceous. However the skull that makes up the holotype of Minotaurasaurus is more famous for the controversy surrounding it. The skull was purchased from a fossil dealer by Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, who in turn allowed it to be studied by palaeontologists. However at … Read more
In Depth Fossils of Platypelta have for a long time been associated with the genus Euoplocephalus, yet in 2018, some of these fossils were given their own distinct genus by Penkalski in 2018. Platypelta was a medium sized ankylosaurine dinosaur that lived in North America during the late Cretaceous. Further Reading - Revised systematics … Read more
In Depth It is something of a paradox that one of the most popular dinosaurs of all time is understood by some of the most incomplete fossil remains. What can be gleaned from the available fossil material is that Ankylosaurus was one of if not the largest of the group. The incomplete fossil evidence however … Read more
In Depth At the time of its description only known from a partial skull, Zaraapelta is a genus of ankylosaur that lived during the late Cretaceous. The Zaraapelta holotype skull was found in the Barun Goyot Formation of Mongolia, indicating that Zaraapelta shared the same ecosystem as two other ankylosaurid genera called Tarchia and Saichania. … Read more