Talarurus plicatospineus -Maleev, 1952- skeleton
Archosauria: Ornithischia:
Ankylosauria: Ankylosauridae
Locality: Bayan Shiren, Gobi
Desert, southern Mongolia
Age: Late Cretaceous (Santonian), 85 million years
ago
Meaning of name: "basket tail"
The
quadrupedal ankylosaurians appeared in the late Middle Jurassic.
They were the
most heavily armoured dinosaurs and possessed a relatively small flattened head,
short stout limbs and a pelvis without frontal extension of the pubis.
The most
advanced members of this group, the ankylosaurs, were distinguished particularly
by a club on the end of their tail.
They are known from the late Early Cretaceous
to the end of Late Cretaceous.
This skeleton has the squat posture typical of
ankylosaurs.
Talarurus
had a broad,hippopotamus-like chest, and its body was covered in
bony nodules
(dermal ossicles) that were formed in the skin.
This ankylosaur also had a heavily
armoured head, so it would have been
difficult for all but the largest of carnivores
to have threatened it.
The bony armour may also have been helpful in regulating
body temperature.
Although an almost complete skeleton ofTalarurus exists, it
is yet to be described in
the scientific literature completely.
This
a $1 dollar coin issued by the government of Eritrea.
It is larger than a silver
dollar.
