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 means the ‘destroyer of shins’. This is a reference to how ankylosaurid dinosaurs are thought to have defended themselves by using their tail clubs to hit the legs of attacking dinosaurs. The genus name Zuul is a reference to the character that appeared in the 1984 film Ghostbusers.
Further Reading
- A new ankylosaurine dinosaur from the Judith River Formation of Montana, USA, based on an exceptional skeleton with soft tissue preservation. - Royal Society Open Science 4(161086). - V. M. Arbour & D. C. Evans - 2017.
