Dinosaur genus

Ankylosaurus

Brown 1908

Ankylosaurus is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 72.2–66 million years old, in the United States and Canada.

Confidence labels

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How sure are we?5 high9 medium2 lowHow we rate confidence

Confidence labels are switched off. Facts with low confidence, or where sources disagree, still carry a small dot: tap it for the reason.

At a glance

Data as of 5 October 2026

72.2–66 Ma

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114366

Solid: the ages of its dated fossils, 72.2–66 million years ago (Omnisaura's calculation). Pale: the published range, 83.6–66 million years ago, which also counts records Omnisaura leaves out.

The last non-bird dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago. That's as far from us as the end of this bar.

Named by: Brown 1908
high
high: PBDB and Wikidata agree.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Described in: B. Brown (1908). The Ankylosauridae, a new family of armored dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 24(12): 187–201. Read it
high
high: PBDB gives this publication for the name; its author and year match the naming authority (Brown 1908), on which PBDB and Wikidata agree.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. The publication the Paleobiology Database gives as the authority for this genus name, usually the one that first named and described it.
Lived: Campanian to Maastrichtian, 83.6–66 million years ago
high
high: PBDB and NHM agree.
Omnisaura calculation72.2–66 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
medium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 14 confirmed PBDB records.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Fossils found in: Canada
high
high: NHM and PBDB both record it.
United States
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (11 records).
mixed
mixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
Rock formations: Ferris
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (5 records).
Hell Creek Formation
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (4 records).
Lance Formation
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Scollard
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Frenchman
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
mixed
mixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.
Family: Ankylosauridae
high
high: PBDB and NHM agree.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Parent group: Ankylosaurinae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Order: Ornithischia
medium
medium: Only NHM gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Gap filled from NHM.
Species named in its records: Ankylosaurus magniventris
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).
Diet: herbivore (inferred for its group)
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this, and it infers it for the whole of Ornithischia, the group this genus belongs to, not from this genus's own fossils.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
Way of life: ground dwelling, gregarious (inferred for its group)
low
low: PBDB infers this way of life for the whole of Ornithischia; behaviour is rarely known for one genus.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
Known from: Bones
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).

Sources: Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0), Natural History Museum Data Portal (CC0 1.0), Wikidata (CC0 1.0)Confidence levels and gaps are Omnisaura's own assessment.

Gaps are answers

What isn't known yet

Type species: no source we use gives it yet.
Common names: no source we use gives it yet.
What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
Held back: 2 fossil records left out: identified only tentatively (for example "cf.", "?" or the name in quotation marks).
Resting on one source: 3 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): parent group (PBDB); order (NHM); diet (PBDB).

Size and appearance aren't covered yet, and diet and way of life only as PBDB infers them for the wider group. Omnisaura leaves the rest out rather than guess.

Where sources disagree

None open. Where our sources overlap, they agree on everything shown here.

Did it meet…?

Did Ankylosaurus meet ?

Yes. Both are found, identified to species, in the same rocks of the same age: Ferris, Frenchman, Hell Creek, Lance, Scollard.

Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.

Connections

Genera linked to Ankylosaurus by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.

Same rocks, same time 34

Genera found in the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.

Triceratops Tyrannosaurus Edmontosaurus Thescelosaurus Richardoestesia Paronychodon Pachycephalosaurus Saurornitholestes Troodon Chirostenotes Ornithomimus Dromaeosaurus Leptoceratops Nanotyrannus Pectinodon Torosaurusand 18 more

Same family: Ankylosauridae 22

Other genera in Ankylosauridae with a full profile.

Ahshislepelta Akainacephalus Aletopelta Anodontosaurus Bissektipelta Cedarpelta Chuanqilong Crichtonpelta Eopinacosaurus Euoplocephalus Gobisaurus Nodocephalosaurus Oohkotokia Pinacosaurus Platypelta Ruopodosaurusand 6 more

Named by Brown 11

Genera whose naming authority includes the same surname. The authority has no initials, so different people who share a surname can appear together.

Albertadromeus Anchiceratops Borealopelta Corythosaurus Dromaeosaurus Hypacrosaurus Kritosaurus Leptoceratops Pachycephalosaurus Prosaurolophus Saurolophus

Found in United States 54

Other genera found in United States, from rocks of overlapping age, the most fossil sites there first.

Triceratops Tyrannosaurus Edmontosaurus Thescelosaurus Paronychodon Richardoestesia Pachycephalosaurus Alamosaurus Troodon Saurornitholestes Dromaeosaurus Chirostenotes Ornithomimus Glyptodontopelta Edmontonia Leptoceratopsand 38 more

Where its fossils were found

12 fossil sites, with present-day and ancient positions

Open the map at this time

Cite this page

Omnisaura (2026). Ankylosaurus. Future Sailors. https://www.omnisaura.com/genera/ankylosaurus. Data as of 5 October 2026.

What's changed

No changes since the change log started (11 Oct 2026).

Every change to Omnisaura

Use this data

Download this genus as JSON With every source and licence attached. Also recorded in: Paleobiology Database · Wikipedia (English) · GBIF · Wikidata Spotted a problem? Tell us

Pictures

29 openly licensed pictures of Ankylosaurus on Wikimedia Commons and museum sites, each with its own author and licence.

Ankylosaur head - cast - Custer County Montana - Museum of the Rockies - 2013-07-08.jpg
Tim Evanson, CC BY-SA 2.0
Ankylosaurus magniventris reconstruction.png
Emily Willoughby ([email protected], http://emilywilloughby.com), CC BY-SA 3.0
NHM-UK_P_DF118_03_22_0337
The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London, CC BY 4.0
NHM-UK_P_DF118_03_22_0337
The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London, CC BY 4.0

The rest are listed in the JSON download.

Credits

Where this page comes from

Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
Natural History Museum Data PortalCC0 1.0 · catalogued specimens
WikidataCC0 1.0 · names and identifiers
OmnisauraOmnisaura editorial · confidence levels and gaps
PaleoMAP PaleoCoastlines (Kocsis and Scotese 2021)CC BY 4.0 · ancient coastlines on the small map
Natural EarthPublic domain · today's coastlines

Pictures linked from this page are credited beside each one, with their own licences; the full list is in the JSON download.