Extinct Creatures #6
Added 2016-07-15 16:40:34 +0000 UTCHere are some little Jurassic ankylosaurs! Ankylosaurs are little herbivorous armored dinosaurs that are beloved by all. Most folks only know about Ankylosaurus, which lived at the tail end of the Cretaceous, but the group first evolved back in the Jurassic and included such dinos as Mymoorapelta and Gargoyleosaurus, which lived in what would one day be the midwestern united states.
And here is where my novice-level paleontologist expertise runs a little dry, because the differences between these two seem to be a bit subtle and I may not have captured them very well (or I could even have mixed them up a little and accidentally blended them??) It seems like Gargoyleosaurus has spikes on its face and plates along the topside of its tail, and Mymoorapelta has nubbins on its face but not spikes (and may be a bit smaller). Do not quote me on these things, this is just what I've gathered by looking at (possibly mislabeled) pictures of fossils from museums which I have not been to.
All this is to say I may know a lot about dinosaurs but boy, is there a lot I do not know. Regardless, these little guys are very cute and pointy, and I hope you like them.
