23 November 2012

Dinosaur II - Ankylosauridae




Ankylosauria meaning "fused lizard", all have fused bones along their back which form plates of armor. Most of them have a large bony club at the end of their tail. Ankylosaurus is the largest and best known of the family. The Crichtonosaurus was named after Michael Crichton, author of Jurassic Park.

Most Akylosauria have been found in the Western North American continent, Mongolia and China. They lived in the late Cretaceous and were amongst the dinosaurs destroyed by the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event (the big asteroid).

1) Aletopelta (West USA)
2) Minmi (Australia)
3) Shamosaurus (Mongolia)
4) Ahshislepelta (West USA)
5) Ankylosaurus (West USA)
6) Euoplocephalus (West USA and West Canada)
7) Minotaurasaurus (China)
8) Tarchia (Mongolia)
9) Tsagantegia (Mongolia)

Dinosaur I - Stegosauria




Stegosauria meaning "roof lizard", all have special bones called osteoderms along their backs, which develop into plates or spines. The spines on the tail are called thagomizers. There's debate as to whether the plates on their backs were purely for defense or whether they were also a cooling system.

Most Stegosauria have been discovered in China. They're from the Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods.

1) Gigantospinosaurus (China)
2) Huayangosaurus (China)
3) Chialangosaurus (China)
4) Chungkingosaurus (China)
5) Dacentrurus (UK, France, Spain)
6) Hesperosaurus (USA)
7) Miragia (Portugal)
8) Monkosaurus (Tibet, China)
9) Wuerhosaurus (China)
10) Kentrosaurus (Tanzania)
11) Stegosaurus (USA)
12) Tuojiangosaurus (China)