Panoplosaurus

Panoplosaurus was a heavily built nodosaurid dinosaur that lived in Alberta, Canada during the Late Cretaceous epoch. Measuring up to seven metres in length and weighing several tonnes, this herbivore was effectively a living tank. Its skull had a compact, boxy construction covered in thick dermal plating, and broad bands of bony scutes shielded its neck, back, and tail. Large, forward-curving spines projected from its shoulders to deter predators. Unlike ankylosaurids, it possessed no bony club on its tail, relying instead on its massive bulk, low centre of gravity, and formidable body armor to deflect attacks while grazing peacefully on ferns, shrubs, and cycads in ancient delta environments.

Unlike many relatives, its skull was covered in thick, seamlessly fused plates without separate distinct horns.

Where and when

Panoplosaurus lived in the Late Cretaceous, from 76.5 to 75 million years ago (Campanian age). Its remains come from Canada, in the Dinosaur Park Formation.

The numbers

Length 6 m (estimates run from 5 to 7 m). Mass about 2.5 t. Hip height about 1.8 m. That is 3.5 human-lengths, or 0.54 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.

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