Amazingly thorny dinosaur unveiled in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY – A dinosaur covered with bone armor from his spiny head to his clubbed tail was unveiled in a museum in Utah.

The species of ankylosaur was a squat plant eater that wandered south of Utah on all fours about 76 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous. At that time, the desert state was hot and humid, covered with slow-flowing streams and rivers, as well as large evergreens, said Randall Irmis, a paleontologist

who was about as long than a big alligator. on a big human. He probably used his distinctive tail and armor for protection, although they could also be used for display.

The fossil dinosaur, unveiled Thursday at the Utah Museum of Natural History, was discovered in 2008 in the Grand Staircase. National Monument, a rich deposit of dinosaurs in southern Utah

The fossil was discovered in the Kaiparowits Formation, a thick layer of sandstone that also contains extensive coal reserves in the interior from a sprawling national monument. reduced last year. The place where the fossil was found remains within the boundaries of the monument, although the areas that are now on the outside also have fossil potential, Irmis said. Paleontologists believe that animals have migrated to North America several times over the ages, when the sea-level drop allowed them to cross a land bridge.

The species was named Akainacephalus johnsoni to recognize Randy Johnson, a retired chemist and museum volunteer who spent hundreds of hours painstakingly releasing the skull of rock and debris.

With a complete skull, the fossil also includes tail, large parts of its spine and parts of its armor, including two neck rings and spiked armor plates.

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