Ankylosaurinae

Ankylosaurinae is a subfamily of ankylosaurid dinosaurs that lived during the Early Cretaceous period, around 105 million years ago, until the end of the Late Cretaceous, about 66 million years ago. These fascinating creatures were part of a larger group of armored dinosaurs known for their heavy, bony plates and clubs at the ends of their tails.

Several well-known genera belong to the Ankylosaurinae clade, including Ankylosaurus, Pinacosaurus, Euoplocephalus, and Saichania. These dinosaurs were among the last surviving members of their group, thriving during the final days of the dinosaur era.

Ankylosaurines were heavily armored, walking on all fours with bodies covered in thick osteoderms—bony plates embedded in their skin. They used their powerful tail clubs for defense against predators, making them formidable opponents in the ancient ecosystems they inhabited.

Features

Ankylosaurinae is a group of dinosaurs defined as the largest group that includes Ankylosaurus magniventris but not Shamosaurus scutatus. Another group, called Ankylosaurini, includes Ankylosaurus magniventris but not Pinacosaurus grangeri and Saichania chulsanensis.

Special features of these dinosaurs include a bony shelf on their neck that covers part of the head when viewed from above, and a specific joint in their skull that is partly hidden by another bony bump.

Phylogeny

The following cladogram shows what scientists think about how ankylosaurines are related to each other, based on a study by Arbour & Currie in 2015. This helps us understand the family tree of these ancient dinosaurs.