Brown scientifically described the animal in 1908 the generic name is derived from the Greek words αγκυλος ankulos ('bent' or 'crooked'), referring to the medical term ankylosis, the stiffness produced by the fusion of bones in the skull and body, and σαυρος sauros ('lizard'). The specimen (found by collector Peter Kaisen) consisted of the upper part of a skull, two teeth, part of the shoulder girdle, cervical, dorsal, and caudal vertebrae, ribs, and more than thirty osteoderms (armor plates). In 1906, an American Museum of Natural History expedition led by American paleontologist Barnum Brown discovered the type specimen of Ankylosaurus magniventris (AMNH 5895) in the Hell Creek Formation, near Gilbert Creek, Montana. Skull of holotype AMNH 5895 and reconstruction diagram of same Ankylosaurus also lived alongside dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, and Edmontosaurus. Although it lived alongside a nodosaurid ankylosaur, their ranges and ecological niches do not appear to have overlapped, and Ankylosaurus may have inhabited upland areas. Specimens of Ankylosaurus have been found in the Hell Creek, Lance, Scollard, Frenchman, and Ferris formations, but it appears to have been rare in its environment. The tail club is thought to have been used in defense against predators or in intraspecific combat. Sinuses and nasal chambers in the snout may have been for heat and water balance or may have played a role in vocalization. Its broad muzzle indicates it was a non-selective browser. Ankylosaurus is thought to have been a slow-moving animal, able to make quick movements when necessary. Bones in the skull and other parts of the body were fused, increasing their strength, and this feature is the source of the genus name.Īnkylosaurus is a member of the family Ankylosauridae, and its closest relatives appear to be Anodontosaurus and Euoplocephalus. It was covered in armor plates, or osteoderms, with bony half-rings covering the neck, and had a large club on the end of its tail. The front part of the jaws was covered in a beak, with rows of small, leaf-shaped teeth farther behind it. Unlike other ankylosaurs, its nostrils faced sideways rather than towards the front. It had a wide, low skull, with two horns pointing backward from the back of the head, and two horns below these that pointed backward and down.
It was quadrupedal, with a broad, robust body. Possibly the largest-known ankylosaurid, Ankylosaurus is estimated to have been between 6 and 8 meters (20 and 26 ft) long and to have weighed between 4.8 and 8 metric tons (5.3 and 8.8 short tons). Though other members of Ankylosauria are represented by more extensive fossil material, Ankylosaurus is often considered the archetypal member of its group, despite having some unusual features. A handful of specimens have been excavated to date, but a complete skeleton has not been discovered.
The generic name means "fused" or "bent lizard", and the specific name means "great belly". It was named by Barnum Brown in 1908 it is monotypic, containing only A. Its fossils have been found in geological formations dating to the very end of the Cretaceous Period, about 68–66 million years ago, in western North America, making it among the last of the non-avian dinosaurs. Ankylosaurus is a genus of armored dinosaur.
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