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THIS BONE IS HAS THE APPEARANCE OF A MODERN BONE WITH SPECTACULAR PRESERVATION YET IT IS SOLID STONE
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VERY RARE COMPLETE PERFECTLY PRESERVED ANKYLOSAURUS METATARSAL BONE Hell Creek Formation - South Dakota, U.S.A. LATE CRETACEOUS PERIOD: 70 - 65 million years ago Post-cranial ANKYLOSAUR fossils are extremely rare. Finding a complete bone in this level of preservation makes this an especially prize specimen for a collection of rare dinosaur fossils. This is a perfectly preserved and complete metatarsal from the armored ankylosaurid dinosaur Ankylosaurus magniventris found in the Hell Creek Formation, U.S.A.. It is so well-preserved, you can see every minute detail of tendon scarring and attachment points. The articulating joint surfaces are perfect. It is solid stone and suffered only a single break which has been repaired with other minor superficial age fractures stabilized. This premium specimen is in immaculate condition and has NO RESTORATION or FABRICATION of any kind. Even teeth are rare but a bone like this is something that is truly a scarce find. Highly recommended for well-rounded dinosaur fossil collections or educational collections. Ankylosaurus magniventris was about 16 feet in length and about 6.5 feet wide, possibly weighing as much as 3-4 tons. Their massive tail club spans close to 2 feet across when full-grown. This was certainly an effective and deadly weapon against T. rex when any such meeting might have occurred.
There were two sub-groups of the ankylosaurs. First the NODOSAURIDS appeared in the Middle Jurassic and survived into the Cretaceous. By the Early Cretaceous, the ANKYLOSAURIDS emerged and existed all the way to the end . The most notable difference between the two is that nodosaurs lacked horns on their head and a tail club while akylosaurs possessed both. Ankylosaurs include several different species spanning many world regions. Sizes range from 8 feet on up to 33 feet in length and weighing up to 2 tons. They all walked on four feet and were very slow in their locomotion. Ankylosaurs were herbivorous, ornithischian (bird-hipped) dinosaurs. They had toothless beaks and small leaf-shaped teeth that lined the sides of their jaws. The
most dominant characteristic of ankylosaurs is the presence of extensive
bony armor plating. Normally moveable portions of the skeleton
found in other dinosaurs were fused in ankylosaurs. Most
remarkable is the multiple layers of bone armor that covered the skull.
Even the eyelids of ankylosaurs were bone! With such an
impregnable design to the skull, it is likely that an ankylosaur could
have survived any attack to its head region. The most famous part of anatomy of the ankylosaurids is their heavy tail club made up of several heavy fused bones. Massive muscles and tendons provided strength and power to the wielding of this defensive mechanism against large therapods such as Tyrannosaurus rex. Without a tail club, the probable defense of nodosaurids was to hunker down and wait out an attack like a turtle, relying rather, on its spikes and armor for protection. Articulated ankylosaur remains are rarely found. Most ankylosaur fossils collected are isolated teeth and pieces of their bony armor. Ankylosaur remains have been found in North America, Europe, Australia, Antarctica, and Mongolia. POST CRANIAL ANKYLOSAUR FOSSILS ARE EXTREMELY RARE AND A COMPLETE, PERFECTLY BONE LIKE THIS IS EVEN MORE SO 6.5" long SOLD DB10-001 Actual Item - One Only |
 HELL CREEK FORMATION, U.S.A. |
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The
skeletal and armor design of an ANKYLOSAUR makes them the "walking
tanks" of prehistory. With an array of armor plates, knobs,
spikes, scales, multiple bone layers and in some, a tail club,
ankylosaurs relied on protection rather than speed to avoid falling
victim to the top predators of their time. 