| Ankylosaurus magniventris | |
|---|---|
|
Anky | |
| |
Basic Info
| |
| Type | Defensive Herbivore
(Ornithoschian: Thyreophoran: Ankylosaurid) |
| Time Period | Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) |
| Diet | Very low browser/grazer |
Ankylosaurus is a rare armored dinosaur that may have favored upland environments. They fed on very low lying fibrous plant matter and fruit.
Ankylosaurus had large clubs at the end of their tails that could allow for tail swings powerful enough to break bone. Although it is not known if they use their tails for defense against predators or fighting each other or both.
Ecology in Dinosystem[]
Ankylosaurus are solitary herbivores that only come together to mate or to congregate around a concentrated resource. Unlike Triceratops or T.rex, Ankylosaurus do not care for their eggs or young and will ignore youngsters in distress. They also do not require water as often as Triceratops and can do better in drier areas, but their preference for feeding on young trees means they have difficulty feeding in lower fertility regions. In the winter, they hibernate to conserve energy since their usual food sources do not grow in abundance in this time.
Although not aggressive, adults can defend themselves even better than Triceratops and as consequence are seldom preyed upon by predators. However youngsters are weaker and the lack of care from adults makes the young easy targets for predation by adult T.rex. Unlike males, females lack horns (although this was likely not the case in real life).
Ankylosaurus feed on ferns until they are 15 days old and take 30 days to reach maturity.
Ankylosaurus bury their eggs under the terrain, making them hard to spot, and also increasing their longevity ( which makes the eggs hatch faster )
Their dependence on young trees make thunderstorms crucial to clearing away old growth forests to make room for new growth.
Strategy in Dinosystem Survival[]
Ankylosaurus eggs are a good source of nutrients and, unlike Triceratops or T.rex, Ankylosaurus do not protect their eggs so if the player finds a nest but isn't hungry then there's no need to rush. It is relatively safe and easy to follow adult Ankylosaurus around throughout the year to train Zoology, as they do not become aggressive unless they are attacked or harassed and they are nearly completely inactive in the winter.
Ankylosaurs are also a source of meat but the adult Ankylosaurus are very difficult to kill and will ferociously defend themselves. Young and elderly Ankylosaurus are less dangerous.
While young Ankylosaurus are more challenging to kill than young Triceratops, adults will not come to their aid, so they are much safer to attack.
Resources[]
- C. Kenneth. 2004. Redescription of Ankylosaurus magniventris Brown 1908 (Ankylosauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous of the Western Interior of North America.
- V. Arbour. 2009. Estimating impact forces of tail club strikes by ankylosaurid dinosaurs
- J. Mallon & J. Anderson. 2013. Implications of beak morphology for the evolutionary palaeoecology of the megaherbivorous dinosaurs from the Dinosaur Park Formation (upper Campanian) of
Alberta, Canada