Ankylosaurus

Ankylosaurus (Pronounced "Ann-kee-low-saw-rus" and meaning "Stiffened Lizard") was a brutal looking, tank sized herbivore native to the North American continent between 70-65 million years ago, during the late Cretacious period.

Ankylosaurus was quadrupedal, meaning it walked on all fours, and was instantly recognisable by it's heavy armour plating and long tail ending in a giant bone "club". The most common view in the scientific community is that this club was used as a defensive weapon against predators, and it is currently believed that one good swing of this mighty appendage could have easily shattered the limbs of an attacker. Indeed, illustrations of ankylosaurus often show it swinging its tail club at a Tyrannosaur, which adequately demonstrates the ankylosaur's overall badassitude.

Despite its fearsome appearance and devastating biological weaponry, Ankylosaurs led a strictly herbivorous diet. They were essentially the Shao Lin monks of the late Cretacious - capable of lethal force when pushed, but generally pacifistic. However, because they are roughly the same size and well armoured, they are often likened to tanks by unimaginative people who write dinosaur articles for forum wikis, as well as legitimate authors and palaeontologists.

Fossilised remains have shown that ankylosaurs were either herd animals, or cohabited the same areas in abundance. Given the extreme nature of an individual's in-built protection, however, it seems unlikely that such herd behaviour was formed for protection. More likely they just wanted to compare tail clubs in some prehistoric pissing-up-the-wall contest. And in all fairness, if I had a tail club like that, I'd boast about it too.

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