Tiny Tanks: Exploring the Early Evolution of Ankylosaurs

Please enjoy this episode focusing on the early evolution of the heavily armored, tank-like herbivorous Ankylosaurs. Thumbnail art by Hodari Nundu. https://www.patreon.com/c/DrPolaris?vanity=user Sources used for this video: Agnolín, Federico L.; Rozadilla, Sebastián; Marsà, Jordi García; Álvarez Nogueira, Rodrigo; Miner, Santiago; Álvarez-Herrera, Gerardo; Novas, Fernando E.; Pol, Diego (2026-01-13). "New remains of the armored dinosaur Patagopelta cristata Riguetti et al. 2022 (Ornithischia, Parankylosauria) from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina". Historical Biology: 1–64. doi:10.1080/08912963.2025.2583504. ISSN 0891-2963. Anderson, Lilian; Brassey, Charlotte; Pond, Stuart; Bates, Karl; Sellers, William Irvin (October 2023). "Investigating the quadrupedal abilities of Scutellosaurus lawleri and its implications for locomotor behavior evolution among dinosaurs". The Anatomical Record. 306 (10): 2514–2536. doi:10.1002/ar.25189. ISSN 1932-8486. PMID 36896818. Breeden, Benjamin T.; Rowe, Timothy B. (2020-07-03). "New Specimens of Scutellosaurus Lawleri Colbert, 1981, from the Lower Jurassic Kayenta Formation in Arizona Elucidate the Early Evolution of Thyreophoran Dinosaurs". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 40 (4) e1791894. Bibcode:2020JVPal..40E1894B. doi:10.1080/02724634.2020.1791894. ISSN 0272-4634. Fonseca, A. O.; Reid, I. J.; Venner, A.; Duncan, R. J.; Garcia, M. S.; Müller, R. T. (2024). "A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis on early ornithischian evolution". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 22 (1). 2346577. Bibcode:2024JSPal..2246577F. doi:10.1080/14772019.2024.2346577. Gierliński, Gregard (1999). "Tracks of a large thyreophoran from the Early Jurassic of Poland" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 44. Kilbourne, Brandon; Carpenter, Kenneth (13 July 2005). "Redescription of Gargoyleosaurus parkpinorum, a polacanthid ankylosaur from the Upper Jurassic of Albany County, Wyoming". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen. 235 (1): 111–160. doi:10.1127/njgpa/235/2005/111. Lucy G. Leahey; Ralph E. Molnar; Kenneth Carpenter; Lawrence M. Witmer; Steven W. Salisbury (2015). "Cranial osteology of the ankylosaurian dinosaur formerly known as Minmi sp. (Ornithischia: Thyreophora) from the Lower Cretaceous Allaru Mudstone of Richmond, Queensland, Australia". PeerJ. 3 e1475. doi:10.7717/peerj.1475. PMC 4675105. PMID 26664806. Madzia, D.; Arbour, V.M.; Boyd, C.A.; Farke, A.A.; Cruzado-Caballero, P.; Evans, D.C. (2021). "The phylogenetic nomenclature of ornithischian dinosaurs". PeerJ. 9 e12362. doi:10.7717/peerj.12362. PMC 8667728. PMID 34966571. Maidment, Susannah C. R.; Strachan, Sarah J.; Ouarhache, Driss; Scheyer, Torsten M.; Brown, Emily E.; Fernandez, Vincent; Johanson, Zerina; Raven, Thomas J.; Barrett, Paul M. (2021-09-23). "Bizarre dermal armour suggests the first African ankylosaur". Nature Ecology & Evolution. 5 (12): 1576–1581. Bibcode:2021NatEE...5.1576M. doi:10.1038/s41559-021-01553-6. ISSN 2397-334X. PMID 34556830. S2CID 237616095. Norman, David B. (2020). "Scelidosaurus harrisonii from the Early Jurassic of Dorset, England: cranial anatomy". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 188 (1): 1–81. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz074. Riguetti FJ, Apesteguía S, Pereda-Suberbiola X (2022). "A new Cretaceous thyreophoran from Patagonia supports a South American lineage of armoured dinosaurs". Scientific Reports. 12 (1) 11621. Bibcode:2022NatSR..1211621R. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-15535-6. PMC 9372066. PMID 35953515. Schade, Marco; Ansorge, Jörg (2022). "New thyreophoran dinosaur material from the Early Jurassic of northeastern Germany". Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 96 (1–14): 303–311. Bibcode:2022PalZ...96..303S. doi:10.1007/s12542-022-00605-x. S2CID 246040635. Soto-Acuña, Sergio; Vargas, Alexander O.; Kaluza, Jonatan; Leppe, Marcelo A.; Botelho, Joao F.; Palma-Liberona, José; Simon-Gutstein, Carolina; Fernández, Roy A.; Ortiz, Héctor; Milla, Verónica; et al. (2021). "Bizarre tail weaponry in a transitional ankylosaur from subantarctic Chile" (PDF). Nature. 600 (7888): 259–263. Bibcode:2021Natur.600..259S. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-04147-1. PMID 34853468. S2CID 244799975. Soto Acuña, Sergio; Vargas, Alexander O.; Kaluza, Jonatan (2024). "A new look at the first dinosaur discovered in Antarctica: reappraisal of Antarctopelta oliveroi (Ankylosauria: Parankylosauria)". Advances in Polar Science. 35 (1): 78–107. doi:10.12429/j.advps.2023.0036.