Skip to content
Category

Ankylosauria

page 1
Ankylosauria
Ankylosauria is a group of herbivorous dinosaurs of the clade Ornithischia. It includes the great majority of dinosaurs with armor in the form of bony osteoderms, similar to turtles. Ankylosaurs were bulky quadrupeds, with short, powerful limbs. They are known to have first appeared in North Africa during the Middle Jurassic, and persisted until the end of the Late Cretaceous. The two main families of ankylosaurians, Nodosauridae and Ankylosauridae primarily originated from the Northern Hemisphere (North America, Europe and Asia). The more basal Parankylosauria originated from southern Gondwan
Dracopelta
Dracopelta (meaning "dragon shield") is a monospecific genus of ankylosaurian dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic (uppermost lower Tithonian-upper Tithonian, 152.1-145.0 Ma) in what is now the Lourinhã Formation, Portugal. The type and only species is Dracopelta zbyszewskii, which is represented by a partial skeleton including unpublished material.
Spicomellus
Spicomellus is an extinct genus of unusual early ankylosaurian dinosaur from the El Mers III Formation (Bathonian age) of Morocco. The genus contains a single species, Spicomellus afer, representing the oldest named definitive ankylosaur. The species was initially described in 2021 based on a single rib with fused osteoderms, rendering its life appearance and relationships uncertain. In 2025, several additional bones, including osteoderms and cranial and postcranial remains, were described, revealing that it bears a unique array of spines over the body, including extremely elongated spikes aro
Sarcolestes
Sarcolestes (from Ancient Greek σάρξ (sárx), meaning "flesh", and λῃστής (lēistḗs), meaning "robber", and thus, "flesh robber") is an extinct genus of ankylosaurian ornithischian dinosaur from the Oxford Clay of England. The current type and only species is S. leedsi, and the holotype is a single partial left mandible. The genus and species were named in 1893 by Richard Lydekker, who thought they belonged to a theropod.
Ahshislepelta
Ahshislepelta (meaning "Ah-shi-sle-pah Wash shield") is a monospecific genus of ankylosaur dinosaur from New Mexico that lived during the Late Cretaceous (late Campanian stage, 74.5 Ma) in what is now the Hunter Wash Member of the Kirtland Formation. The type and only species, Ahshislepelta minor, is known only from an incomplete postcranial skeleton of a small subadult or adult individual. It was named in 2011 by Michael Burns and Robert M. Sullivan. Based on the size of the humerus, Ahshislepelta is larger than Pinacosaurus mephistocephalus but smaller than Talarurus and Pinacosaurus granger
Tianchisaurus
Tianchisaurus (meaning "heavenly pool lizard"), also invalidly called Tianchiasaurus and "Jurassosaurus", is a genus of ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic (Oxfordian-Kimmeridgian) Toutunhe Formation of China. While many later-diverging ankylosaurids had bony clubs at the tips of their tails, Tianchisaurus likely lacked such a structure.
Acantholipan
Acantholipan is a genus of herbivorous nodosaurid dinosaur from Mexico from the early Santonian age of the Late Cretaceous. It includes one species, Acantholipan gonzalezi.
Cryptosaurus eumerus
Cryptosaurus (meaning "hidden lizard") is a dubious genus of dinosaur known from a partial femur from the Late Jurassic of England. The sole species is Cryptosaurus eumerus.
Chuanqilong
Chuanqilong (meaning "legendary dragon") is a monospecific genus of basal ankylosaurid dinosaur from the Liaoning Province, China that lived during the Early Cretaceous (late Barremian to Aptian stage, 122.0 to 118.9 Ma) in what is now the Jiufotang Formation. The type and only species, Chuanqilong chaoyangensis, is known from a nearly complete skeleton with a skull of a juvenile individual. It was described in 2014 by Fenglu Han, Wenjie Zheng, Dongyu Hu, Xing Xu, and Paul M. Barrett. Chuanqilong shows many similarities with Liaoningosaurus and may represent a later ontogenetic stage of the ta
Polacanthinae
Polacanthinae is a subfamily of ankylosaurs, most often nodosaurids, from the Late Jurassic through Early Cretaceous of Europe and potentially North America and Asia. The group is defined as the largest clade closer to Polacanthus foxii than Nodosaurus textilis or Ankylosaurus magniventris, as long as that group nests within either Nodosauridae or Ankylosauridae. If Polacanthus, and by extent Polacanthinae, falls outside either family-level clade, then the -inae suffix would be inappropriate, and the proper name for the group would be the informally defined Polacanthidae.
Priodontognathus phillipsii
Priodontognathus (meaning "saw tooth jaw") is a genus of ankylosaurian dinosaur possibly from the Late Jurassic (Oxfordian-aged) Lower Calcareous Grit of Yorkshire, England. It is a dubious genus based on a maxilla, and has been erroneously mixed up with iguanodonts and stegosaurs.
Vectipelta
Vectipelta (meaning "Isle of Wight shield") is an extinct genus of ankylosaurian dinosaur recovered from the Early Cretaceous Wessex Formation of England. The genus contains a single species, V. barretti, known from a partial skeleton including several osteoderms. It was historically known as the "Spearpoint ankylosaur" prior to its description.
Invictarx
Invictarx (meaning "unconquerable fortress") is a monospecific genus of nodosaurid dinosaur from New Mexico that lived during the Late Cretaceous (lower Campanian, 78.5 Ma) in what is now the upper Allison Member of the Menefee Formation. The type and only species, Invictarx zephyri, is known from three isolated, incomplete postcranial skeletons. It was named in 2018 by Andrew T. McDonald and Douglas G. Wolfe. Invictarx shares similarities with Glyptodontopelta from the Naashoibito member of the Ojo Alamo Formation, New Mexico.
Heishansaurus
Heishansaurus, meaning "Heishan lizard" after the area in China where it was discovered, is the name given to a dubious genus of herbivorous ornithischian dinosaur, probably belonging to the Ankylosauridae.
Stegosaurides
Stegosaurides (meaning "Stegosaurus-shaped") is a genus of herbivorous thyreophoran (perhaps ankylosaurid or possibly stegosaurian) dinosaur. It lived during the Cretaceous. Its fossils were found in the Xinminbao Group near Heishan in Gansu Province in China. These fossils consist of fragmentary material, including dermal spine elements. The genus is occasionally misspelled as "Stegosauroides".
Maleevus
Maleevus (named in honour of Evgeny Maleev) is an extinct genus of herbivorous ankylosaurid dinosaur from the late Cretaceous, around 90 million years ago (possibly 98-83 Ma), of Mongolia.