For those who may not know, Ankylosaurus was a heavily armored herbivore (and Garret’s favorite dinosaur).
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In this episode, we discuss:
- The dinosaur of the day: Ankylosaurus, which means “Fused Lizard.”
- Ankylosaurus existed in the late Cretaceous, about 68 million years ago.
- Barnum Brown first discovered Ankylosaurus in 1908 in the Hell Creek Formation in Montana.
- Ankylosaurus was 20 feet long, weighed up to 4 tons, and had a tiny break.
- Paleontologists call Ankylosaurus a “living tank” because it had plates of bone as body armor, similar to what we see in modern crocodiles or armadillos.
- They are also sometimes called the “Cows of the Cretaceous” because they were not that smart and they grazed slowly on vegetation.
- Ankylosaurus also had two rows of spikes along its body and horns and plates. Ankylosaurus has a tail club that could potentially break bones.
- Ankylosaurus was so wide, predators would have had to flip it over to find a weak spot in the underbelly.
- Ankylosaurus stripped leaves from plants, had a top speed of 6 mph, and a strong sense of small.
- Ankylosaurus is part of the family Ankylosauridae; fossils of this family have been found on every continent but Africa.
- Fun Fact: Ankylosaurus may have been able to blush.
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