Shamosaurus

Name: Shamosaurus ‭(‬Shamo lizard‭ ‬-‭ ‬After the Shamo‭ (‬Gobi‭) ‬Desert‭)‬.
Phonetic: Sham-o-sore-us.
Named By: Tumanova‭ ‬-‭ ‬1983.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Ornithischia,‭ ‬Thyreophora,‭ ‬Ankylosauria,‭ ‬Ankylosauridae.
Species: S.‭ ‬scutatus‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Uncertain due to incomplete remains.
Known locations: Mongolia‭ ‬-‭ ‬Khukhtekskaya Formation.
Time period: Aptian to Albian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Complete skull and lower jaw,‭ ‬additional post cranial remains have been attributed to the genus.

       One of the earliest known ankylosaurs,‭ ‬Shamosaurus is regarded as being very similar to‭ ‬Gobisaurus,‭ ‬however there is enough fine detail differences in the skulls of the two genera that palaeontologists are confident in assigning these two ankylosaurs as separate genera.‭ ‬Unfortunately there are not yet enough remains to confidently estimate the size of Shamosaurus.‭ ‬Ankylosaurs like Shamosaurus would have developed their armour to help defend themselves against medium to large Early Cretaceous era theropod dinosaurs such as the tyrannosaur Yutyrannus which has been found in nearby China.

Further reading
- Pervyy ankilozavr iz nizhnego mela Mongolii [The first ankylosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous of Mongolia], by T. A. Tumanova. - In, Iskopayemyye reptilii mongolii [Fossil Reptiles of Mongolia]. Trudy Sovmestnaya Sovetsko-Mongol'skaya Paleontologicheskaya Ekspeditsiya 24:110-118. - L. P. Tatarinov, R. Barsbold, E. Vorobyeva, B. Luvsandanzan, B. A. Trofimov, Yu. A. Reshetov, & M. A. Shishkin (eds.) - 1983.

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