New species of incredible 'living tank' dinosaur unveiled - 1
Published 18 Dec 2018, 08:10 GMT
Ankylosaurids are best known for their tails, which evolved into stiff sledgehammers capped with bony knobs up to two feet wide. Zuul's club may have helped it fend off predators or rivals within its own species, earning it the species name 'crurivastator', Latin for “destroyer of shins.”
Photograph by Mark ThiessenAmazingly, the bony plates that give Zuul its spikes fossilised in their original positions. Normally, these plates (called osteoderms) are found scattered, since they fell out of the skin as it decayed.
Photograph by Mark ThiessenAmelia Madill, a preparator at Research Casting International, painstakingly flakes excess rock off of the back armour of Zuul. Five technicians led by Madill have worked for a year to prepare the fossil.
Photograph by Mark ThiessenNot only is Zuul's armour preserved, but so are its soft tissues—including the osteoderms' furrowed sheaths of keratin, the protein that makes up rhinoceroses' horns and your fingernails.