25.5" Fossil Ankylosaur Tibia on Metal Stand - Montana

Fossil Ankylosaur Tibia on Metal Stand - Montana #176370

Due to the size and weight of this piece it will be shipped on a pallet or in a crate via freight. Our website cannot automatically calculate freight shipping costs, so these costs will be calculated and billed after purchase. Please contact us prior to purchase if you need a shipping quote.

This is a tibia (lower hind leg) bone of Ankylosaurus magniventris, a species of Ankylosaurid that thrived during Late Cretaceous, North America. It was collected from the Hell Creek Formation on a private lease in Dawson County, Montana. The bone is heavily weathered and required significant restoration to piece back together. There are repaired cracks through both epiphyses and the diaphysis, each of which required gap fill restoration. The distal points of articulation are heavily restored. There are a couple spots where cortical bone preserved, though it's fairly fragmented.

The bone measures about 25.5" long, 8.7" wide (proximal end), 11.8" wide (distal end) and stands just over 26" tall on the accompanied custom metal display stand.

An artists reconstruction of an Ankylosaur. Image Public Domain by Mariana Ruiz

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!

View Jurassic World Fossils