2.2" Ankylosaur Armor Spike - Alberta (Disposition #000028-29)

First, a note on the legality of this fossil. Alberta has very strict laws pertaining to fossil collection. Fossils may not be removed from the province of Alberta without permission from the government. To gain ownership of a fossil, you must be issued a Disposition Certificate from Alberta's Royal Tyrrell Museum. Only a few fossil types are currently eligible for disposition: mostly ammonites, petrified wood, leaves and fossil oysters.

This specimen is part of a collection of dinosaur material that was collected by a single individual (Steve Walchina) decades ago prior to the current law. Because it was collected before the law went into effect, the collection was "grandfathered" in. The collection was reviewed by the Royal Tyrrell Museum and a disposition certificate issued for portions of it that were not considered scientifically significant. This moved the fossils into private ownership and allowed them to be removed from the province. The disposition certificate (#000028-29) is on file with the Royal Tyrrell Museum. This makes the small amount of Alberta dinosaur fossils we recently acquired from this collection some of the only legal Alberta dinosaur material on the market.

Ankylosaurs were herbivorous dinosaurs that lived during the Cretaceous (65-68 million years ago). As the evolution of Ankylosaurus progressed, they developed bony armor that covered their bodies in the form of plates, scutes and spikes, with some even developing armor on their eyelids. While their armor and bone-shattering tail club are thought to have been used for defensive purposes against predators such as Tyrannosaurus, it's possible that some of the armor on their head may have been used for display. Adult Ankylosaurs are believed to have reached up to 25 feet in length and weigh 3.3 tons!