Page 121 - Prehistoric Animals

Skol-O-Sorus

Scolosaurus

What is a Dinosaur ?
Known as a Dinosaur

Scolosaurus (pointed stake lizard) is an extinct genus of
ankylosaurid dinosaurs, that roamed the earth in the Late Cre-
taceous (Campanian age) around 76.5 million years ago. There
are only two recognised species of the genus; S. cutleri and S.
thronus. S. cutleri, the larger of the two, measured around 5
to 6 metres in length and weighed in around 2 tonnes . It’s also
believed to be the oldest known North American ankylosaurid.
Like most ankylosaurid dinosaurs, Scolosaurus, had a very dis-
tinctive look, earning it the name the armoured dinosaur. It
had two backward sweeping bone like horns protruding from
its head and its body was covered with bony protrusions known
as osteoderms with much smaller ones scattered across its thick
scaly skin. Its long thick tail was tipped with a large circular
club knob that it used and swung as a weapon. Scolosaurus, a
gentle herbivore, had good reason to be well prepared for at-
tacking predators. It shared its environment with several large
carnivorous predators, one being Tyrannosaurus. Rex.

Scolosaurus is known as an ankylosaurid dinosaur be-
cause it is a member of the subfamily Ankylosaurinae. This sub-
family consists of several groups or genera of other ankylosau-
rid dinosaurs. Each group contains species that have subtle or
major differences from the species in the other groups. Howev-
er, all the group’s share enough common features to qualify
them as ankylosaurid dinosaurs. It was this variation amongst
species that caused problems after Franz Nopsca introduced
and named a new genus; Scolosaurus, in 1928. In 1971 due to
research carried out the genus Scolosaurus was dropped and its
species merged with the genus Euoplocephalus. Then, in 2013,
a more extensive study proved that the merged species were
different and the genus Scolosaurus was reinstated. As many
species of ankylosaurid dinosaurs are remarkably similar this
latter decision does have its doubters.

Ankylosaurid dinosaurs very successfully roamed the
planet for millions of years. Their disappearance 66
million years ago, during the Cretaceous period, was
believed to have been caused by the Paleogene ex-
tinction event that wiped out three-quarters of the
plants and animals on earth.