Ankylosaurus magniventris

Overview

Ankylosaurus magniventris is a dinosaur armored across its body and equipped with a heavy club at the tail tip. It was a large herbivore that held its body low on four legs. It offers a useful comparison among different dinosaur bodies near the end of the Cretaceous.^[1]

Key facts

The tail club was not known from the first discovery. Early fossils included armor pieces detached from the body, while the characteristic club was discovered later. Even a familiar dinosaur’s appearance was assembled through several discoveries.^[1]

Time and place

It lived in the Late Cretaceous, roughly 68–66 million years ago. Fossils are known from the present-day USA and Canada. This herbivore represents North America’s final dinosaur faunas.^[1]

The time range describes source context, not the complete duration of this species.

Size, form and skeleton

Museums describe it as a large dinosaur approximately 8 m long. Features include bony back plates, a broad, low body, and a club at the tail tip. A beak occupies the front of the head, with plant-processing teeth inside the mouth.^[1]

Habitat and reproduction

It is interpreted as having eaten low-growing plants. While its beak and teeth processed plants, the tail club is studied as a structure used against large predators. A mainly sideways swinging motion has been proposed.^[1]

Fossil discovery

Barnum Brown’s expedition first discovered bones in the Hell Creek Formation of Montana, USA, in 1906. The name Ankylosaurus was established in 1908. Later discoveries added further body features.^[1]

References

1. Natural History Museum — Ankylosaurus
2. Triceratops
3. Ankylosaurus magniventris — NHM genus guide

Research questions

Where did detached armor pieces fit on the body? Researchers compare Ankylosaurus material with articulated skeletons of other armored dinosaurs. How armor and tail form related to growth and life habits remains a subject for investigation.^[1]

Observation

Move your gaze from the bony back plates to the low trunk, four legs, and tail club. Examining armor and the large tail together brings its features into focus.^[1]