What is Ankylosaurus?
{{italictitle}} {{speciesbox | fossil_range = [[Upper Cretaceous]] <br/>68 - 65 mya | image = Ankylosaur head - cast - Custer County Montana - Museum of the Rockies - 2013-07-08.jpg | image_upright = 1.1 | image_alt = Brown skull cast on a pedestal | image_caption = Cast of ''Ankylosaurus'' skull (AMNH 5214) in front view, [[Museum of the Rockies]] | genus = Ankylosaurus | parent_authority = [[Barnum Brown|Brown]], 1908 | species = magniventris | authority = Brown, 1908 }} [[File:Schwanzkeule von Ankylosaurus.JPG|thumb|right|230px|Tail club of ''Ankylosaurus'']] [[File:Ankylosaurus skull AMNH.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Two views of ''Ankylosaurus'' skull, from above and from the left|Skull (AMNH 5214) from the side and above]] [[File: Royal Alberta museum Ankylosaurus.jpg|thumb|alt=Photograph of a dinosaur diorama|Replica of the [[1964 World's Fair]] ''Ankylosaurus'' (note spikes and dragging tail), [[Royal Alberta Museum]]]] '''''Ankylosaurus''''' '''''magniventris''''' was a type of [[armored]] [[dinosaur]]. It was the largest of its type, with a maximum length of {{convert|8|m|ft|abbr=on}} and height of {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=on}}. The body was broad and low-slung and covered in [[armor]]. Carnivores, attacking from above, would find no weak points, and the animal could defend itself by using its clubbed tail. ''Ankylosaurus'' was a [[herbivore]], like all ankylosaurs. It probably ate [[ferns]] and [[cycads]], which were common low-growing plants. ==Armor== The most obvious feature of ''Ankylosaurus'' is its armour, consisting of massive knobs and plates of bone, known as [[osteoderm]] or bony [[scutes]], embedded in the skin. Osteoderms are also found in the skin of [[crocodiles]], [[armadillos]] and some [[lizards]]. The bone was probably overlain by a tough, horny layer of [[keratin]]. These osteoderms ranged greatly in size, from wide, flat plates to small, round nodules. The plates were aligned in regular horizontal rows down the animal's neck, back, and hips, with the many smaller nodules protecting the