Systematics, phylogeny and palaeobiogeography of the ankylosaurid dinosaurs

2015/07/28 by Victoria M. Arbour, Philip J. Currie · 2 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology #Evolution and Paleontology Studies #Ichthyology and Marine Biology

paper · doi:10.1080/14772019.2015.1059985

openalex publication_date 2015/07/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31

Abstract

The Ankylosauria is a group of herbivorous, quadrupedal, armoured dinosaurs subdivided into at least two major clades, the Ankylosauridae and the Nodosauridae. The most derived members of Ankylosauridae had a unique tail club formed from modified, tightly interlocking distal caudal vertebrae and enlarged osteoderms that envelop the terminus of the tail. We review all known ankylosaurid species, as well as ankylosaurs of uncertain affinities, in order to conduct a revised phylogenetic analysis of the clade. The revised phylogenetic analysis resulted in a monophyletic Ankylosauridae consisting of Ahshislepelta, Aletopelta, Gastonia, Gobisaurus, Liaoningosaurus, Shamosaurus and a suite of derived ankylosaurids (Ankylosaurinae). There is convincing evidence for the presence of nodosaurids in Asia during the Early Cretaceous. In the mid Cretaceous, Asian nodosaurids were replaced by ankylosaurine ankylosaurids. Ankylosaurines migrated into North America from Asia between the Albian and Campanian, where they diversified into a clade of ankylosaurines, here named Ankylosaurini, characterized by arched snouts and numerous flat cranial caputegulae. There is no evidence for any ankylosaurids in Gondwana; Ankylosauridae appears to be completely restricted to Asia and North America. The genus Crichtonpelta gen. nov. is created, type species Crichtonsaurus benxiensis Lü et al.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:EE5B88A3-3353-4FB6-B9A2-FCF0F99770EB

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Cited by

• Tail Weaponry in Ankylosaurs and Glyptodonts: An Example of a Rare but Strongly Convergent Phenotype
• Michael Crichton [wikipedia]