Ankylosaurus

This 75 centimetre skull would have belonged to a 9 metre long animal.

Encased in an armour of bony plates and spikes, ankylosaurs were probably safe from all but the most desperate predator. Even their eyelids were made out of bone. Safe in their armour, they were plant eaters. There were two kinds. One had bony armour on its back and nasty spikes sticking out from its shoulders. Although the other group lacked spikes, its tail ended in a crushing club.

The last of the armoured dinosaurs, Ankylosaurus was also the largest member of its family. It was a member of the latter group of ankylosaurs, and had a large, deadly tail club rather than spikes along the sides of its body.

Ankylosaurus' armour pattern was similar to that of an earlier relative, Euoplocephalus, but was on a larger scale.

This document was prepared by Wayne Hortensius, Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the Royal Tyrrell Museum Cooperating Society. All information © 1995 Royal Tyrrell Museum. All Rights Reserved.
Updated: April 8, 1995

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