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Ankylosauruses lived 66 to 68 million years ago but are still talked about today. These robust dinosaurs might only have eaten plants, but they were heavily armored, and most carnivores avoided them because of their strength and tail club.
Ankylosauruses were extremely powerful and rugged. Their tail club could produce 43,000 pounds of force (191,270 N). If used in defense, it could easily crush other dinosaurs’ bones. Ankylosaurus’s bones were fused, and they could grow up to 26 feet (8 m) and weigh up to 8 metric tons (17,600 lbs).
In this article, I will discuss how powerful an ankylosaurus is, if it would be bulletproof, its eating habits, and some more interesting facts that you have to know about this fantastic creature. Check out our collection of dinosaur gifts!
An Ankylosaurus was insanely powerful thanks to its fused bones, which made it really strong and rugged. Ankylosauruses are the biggest known ankylosaurid dinosaur.
It had a broad, thick skull, the largest fossil found being around two feet (0.6 m) long and two feet five inches (0.73 m) wide. The dinosaur is estimated to have been 20 feet (6 m) long and five feet (1.5 m) high.
Ankylosauruses were not speedsters; they moved around slowly as they grazed but could move fast if and when necessary.
Most of their bodies were covered in armor, keeping predators at bay and allowing them to live primarily peaceful lives. Still, they did have predators and had to protect themselves if attacked.
Ankylosauruses only had one weapon, but it was all they needed. Their tail club was a weapon of mass destruction. The top part of their tail was made up of muscle and the rest of fused bone, being able to create 43,000 pounds of force (191,270 N) and swing up to 48 miles per hour (77 km/h).
These dinosaurs were powerful beyond imagination and could easily break the bones of a Tyrannosaurus Rex with the impact of their tail club. The tail club itself was made up of two enormous osteoderms and was about 23 inches (58 cm) long and 19 inches (48 cm) wide.
Here is an interesting YouTube video describing what would happen if an Ankylosaurus and Tyrannosaurus got into a fight:
An Ankylosaurus would have been bulletproof up to a point. They had strong armor, but modern society also has big powerful guns, the largest of which would have been able to penetrate their armor.
We need to take a closer look at their armor to understand better if an Ankylosaurus would have been bulletproof.
Ankylosauruses were covered in osteoderms, which are basically plates of bone, strengthened by collagen fibers that crisscrossed, almost like a bulletproof vest. These osteoderms were embedded into their skin and gave the ankylosaurus armored protection from the most feared dinosaurs.
These osteoderms varied in size and could grow up to 14 inches (36 cm) long. Osteoderms were flat and durable, providing strong protection against predators even though they were lightweight and hollowed.
To provide extra protection, small osteoderms filled in the spaces left between the bigger ones, making an Ankylosaurus’s armor mostly impenetrable.
Not only did they have osteoderms covering their body, but they also had cervical half rings as armor to protect their short thick necks, and their skulls were made from dense bone.
These incredible dinosaurs had strong armor covering almost every inch of their body; even their eyelids were made of bone. They had two big horns, pointing backward and another pair of smaller horns below them.
The only part of their body not covered in armor was their bellies, which were almost impossible to get to as they were sturdy dinosaurs with broad bodies.
Guns come in different sizes, and some are much more powerful than others. In general, a bullet can not only penetrate bone but shatter it, which can cause a lot of internal damage.
Bone can withstand a lot of force but not the impact of an elephant gun or hunting rifle.
Ankylosauruses have some of the most incredible natural armor, but it does not make them completely bulletproof. Bone is brittle even when it is thick.
There is no doubt that Ankylosauruses could survive being shot by a handgun, it will take a lot of force and power to kill such an enormous creature, and a small gun can’t produce it.
However, that’s not the case with larger guns.
Bullets from an elephant gun, hunting rifle, or other similar large gun could penetrate the armor of an Ankylosaurus, which means that they would not have been bulletproof.
Ankylosauruses were amazing creatures, and although most people are fascinated by their armor, there are some other interesting facts about these extinct creatures that will amaze you.
Ankylosauruses are believed to have lived between 68 and 65 million years ago in the Western United States and Canada. Ankylosauruses would have lived in vegetated areas close to rivers and lakes.
Ankylosauruses lived until the cretaceous period and became extinct along with all other non-avian dinosaurs.
The first Ankylosaurus fossil was found in the Hell Creek formation in 1906 by a paleontologist named Barnum Brown.
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Ankylosauruses had wide beaks and rows of tiny teeth. They were herbivores and ate a diet consisting of vegetation such as:
These dinosaurs had a huge appetite, and it is estimated that they could easily have eaten 130 pounds (around 60 kg) of vegetation in a day, which is the same amount that a big elephant eats daily.
Not much is known about dinosaur reproduction, but like tortoises and alligators, Ankylosauruses are believed to have reproduced by laying eggs.
A baby Ankylosaurus will be called a hatchling, just like other baby animals that hatch from eggs.
Ankylosauruses are amazing creatures that will always be remembered as the armored dinosaur.
These rugged dinosaurs were covered in solid, durable osteoderms that protected them from predators. They were extremely powerful and could protect themselves with their tail club, which could severely damage a predator.
An Ankylosauruses’ armor might lead you to believe that they are bulletproof, but that is not entirely true. A small handgun probably won’t do them any harm, and the gunman would have to make a fast escape if he wanted to survive. However, a hunting rifle would be able to penetrate this magnificent giant’s armor.
