New Ankylosaurus Study

[suspsy]

http://www.facetsjournal.com/doi/10.1139/facets-2017-0063

A very interesting and cool read. It'll be interesting to see how the new Safari Ankylosaurus compares to this latest restoration.

[Faelrin]

I skimmed through it a bit now, but I'll have to read it when I get back home tonight, or tomorrow. I'm curious to see how the new Safari one will compare to that too.

[stargatedalek]

Very interesting, seems a lot more similar to most other Ankylosaurs, especially in the shoulder. Always seemed a little odd to me reconstructing Ankylosaurus with those giant shoulder guards.

[Neosodon]

Now my carnegie Ankylosaurus is actually to scale! Hopefully the new safari one will be too.

[suspsy]

Here's a blog post on the study:

https://pseudoplocephalus.com/2017/10/12/so-you-think-you-know-ankylosaurus/

And here's the gigantic Ankylosaurus skull in question. I saw it in person last year at the CMN's open house, and believe me, photos don't do it full justice! It's bigger than a manhole cover!

IMG_2118 by Suspsy Three, on Flickr

IMG_2120 by Suspsy Three, on Flickr

IMG_2137 by Suspsy Three, on Flickr

[Patrx]

Fascinating stuff! It's really cool to see artistic endeavours like Saurian working with science to further our understanding of the past.

[Faelrin]

The blog post was a bit easier for me to read and understand, I won't lie. So aside from the huge head, and weirdly placed nostrils, the placement of the osteoderms is still speculation at this point? I was just comparing the leaked images of the Safari Ltd Ankylosaurus to the osteoderm arrangements in the paper and it looks like it matches the 2004 arrangement the most. The shoulders and neck osteoderm arrangements seem closer to the newest arrangement though. It's just a wee bit late to take advantage of the placements in this most recent paper, though I'm sure it'll still be the most accurate figure of it on the market to date.

Edit: I've looked over it some more, and the 2018 Ankylosaurus figure looks to have the spacing and girth of the new reconstruction, but otherwise still has the 2004 shape and general placement of the osteoderms. So a bit of both it seems. Of course if I had the figure in hand I'd be able to see for sure, but the leaked images will have to do for now.

[ZoPteryx]

Very interesting study, thanks for sharing!

So the retired Carnegie Ankylosaurus appears to be a perfect match for the 2004 reconstruction.  The only likely inaccuracy I can find is its front feet only have 4 digits, when they should have 5.  The leaked Safari Ankylosaurus also most closely resembles the 2004 reconstruction, although the overall body shape, head size, and club size look to be a better match for the new reconstruction.  It also has the correct number of digits.  So in conclusion, the new Safari figure is indeed more accurate than the previous Carnegie figure.

[suspsy]

Switek on the new study:

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/laelaps/presenting-the-new-ankylosaurus/?wt.mc=SA_Twitter-Share