Archovember 2024 Day 5 - Gargoyleosaurus parkpinorum
Living in Late Jurassic Wyoming, USA, Gargoyleosaurus parkpinorum is one of the earliest ankylosaurs known from mostly complete fossil remains. It was a nodosaur, part of a family of ankylosaurs that lacked club-tails. Gargoyleosaurus would have instead relied on its body armour and sharp shoulder spikes for defense. It was relatively small, reaching 3–3.5 m (9.8–11.5 ft) long and weighing an estimated 300–754 kg (661–1,662 lb). Like other nodosaurs, it was likely a herbivore, swallowing ferns, cycads, and angiosperms, and relying on symbiotic bacteria and gut flora to digest its food.
Gargoyleosaurus lived in the diverse Morrison Formation. In Wyoming, it would have lived alongside stegosaurs Alcovasaurus and, of course, Stegosaurus. Ornithopods like Camptosaurus and Dryosaurus would have also shared this space. But the Morrison is most famous for its vast array of sauropods, and Gargoyleosaurus would have lived alongside Dyslocosaurus, Apatosaurus, Ardetosaurus, Brontosaurus, Barosaurus, Diplodocus, Galeamopus, Supersaurus, and Camarasaurus. Gargoyleosaurus could have been hunted by the many predators that made Late Jurassic Wyoming home, including Allosaurus, Ceratosaurus, Fosterovenator, and Torvosaurus. It would have also lived alongside smaller theropods like Coelurus, Hesperornithoides, Ornitholestes, and Tanycolagreus.
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In the Early Cretaceous of Australia lived the small, basal ankylosaurian Kunbarrasaurus ieversi. Originally thought to be a species of Minmi, Kunbarrasaurus was eventually discovered to be a new genus of ankylosaur and renamed in 2015. One specimen is the most complete dinosaur fossil ever found in Australia, even containing gut contents! This Kunbarrasaurus’ last meal consisted of plant tissue fragments, whole fruits, and whole seeds. The tissue fragments are small and seem to have been nibbled or chopped by the ankylosaur. Unlike some other dinosaurs, it lacked any gastroliths, leading paleontologists to believe it had a more sophisticated method of grinding up its food.
Kunbarrasaurus fossils have been found in marine sediment, so they were likely swept out to the shallow inland sea that covered Queensland during the Early Cretaceous. However, some other unfortunate dinosaurs have also been found in the same Allaru Formation. These include the titanosaur Austrosaurus and the iguanodontian Muttaburrasaurus.
CAN'T BELIEVE MY BOY DEAD, WHEN THIS HAPPEN?! . . . #dinosaur #nodosauridae #ankylosaurian #ankylosaurians #latejurassic #jurassic https://www.instagram.com/p/B0UnPr3lwI9/?igshid=1whpjdwhv3zb8
