A NEW 20ft long, three tonnes giant armoured dinosaur species has been discovered – and left scientists baffled.
A team of palaeontologists identified a new species of armoured dinosaur which once roamed China’s ancient land.
The dinosaur had a killer tail[/caption]
A carnivorous T.Rex approaching a heavily armoured Ankylosaurus[/caption]
The unbelievable fossil was discovered in deposits dating back to approximately 84 to 72 million years ago – in the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous period.
In 1986 the fossilised remains of the dinosaur were recovered from the Tangbian geological formation in Longxi village, Jiangxi Province of China.
It’s believed that the armoured dinosaur – now named Huaxiazhoulong shouwen – likely measured roughly 20ft and weighed an unbelievable three tonnes.
But what made it most intimidating was its powerful club tail.
This was a weapon that would have been capable of unleashing deadly blows to any predator.
The near complete fossil of the terrifying beast includes vertebrae, ribs, limb bones and tail bones.
Its shoulder blades suggest well-developed shoulder muscles which could have done a lot of digging.
And the Huaxiazhoulong also has its own unique ischium – which is a crucial bone forming the lower part of the hip.
This indicates powerful legs to dart around with agility.
And with the asymmetrical tail club seen on the beast fossil, it’s believed that it may have had a preferred swing direction – like being left-handed or right-handed.
What may be surprising is that the dinosaur was a herbivore.
It belonged to the Ankylosauridae family which was known for their armour and tail clubs.
The researchers confirmed in the study paper that it “is an early member” of the dinosaur family.
Ankylosaurids ruled the world from the Late Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous – around 165 to 66 million years ago.
And what’s more, it could be the “largest ankylosaur ever found in China”.
Ankylosaurs were quadrupedal dinosaurs that had bony plates embedded into their skin and unbelievably strong limbs to hold their weight.
They resided in North America, Asia and Europe during the Late Jurassic and Late Cretceous periods.
The discovery allows new understand to be shed on the diversity of dinosaur in the Late Cretaceous period.
Why did the dinosaurs die out?
Here’s what you need to know…
- The dinosaur wipe-out was a sudden mass extinction event on Earth
- It wiped out roughly three-quarters of our planet’s plant and animal species around 66million years ago
- This event marked the end of the Cretaceous period, and opened the Cenozoic Era, which we’re still in today
- Scientists generally believe that a massive comet or asteroid around 9 miles wide crashed into Earth, devastating the planet
- This impact is said to have sparked a lingering “impact winter”, severely harming plant life and the food chain that relied on it
- More recent research suggests that this impact “ignited” major volcanic activity, which also led to the wiping-out of life
- Some research has suggested that dinosaur numbers were already declining due to climate changes at the time
- But a study published in March 2019 claims that dinosaurs were likely “thriving” before the extinction event
Ankylosaurus, one of the most popular dinosaurs, was a cretaceous era ornithischian herbivore[/caption]
Ankylosaurus dinosaurs were herbivores[/caption]
