Dinovember 2016, Days 18 & 19

Armoured Edmontonia and Dyoplosaurus pass each other amongst the ferns on
a steep embankment in what will one day be Canada's Dinosaur Provincial Park.

Name: Edmontonia rugosidens
Meaning: rough-toothed Edmontonian [the original material was found in what was then called the Edmonton Formation]
Time: Late Cretaceous, c. 76.5 million years ago
Place: Alberta
Size: about 5.8 metres (19 feet) long and 3 tonnes (3.3 tons) or more
Type of Dinosaur: nodosaurid ankylosaur (clubless armoured dinosaur)

Name: Dyoplosaurus acutosquameus 
Meaning: acute-scaled double-armoured reptile
Time: Late Cretaceous, c. 76.5 million years ago
Place: Alberta
Size: about 4-5 metres (13-16.4 feet) long, possibly larger
Type of Dinosaur: ankylosaurid ankylosaur (club-tailed armoured dinosaur)

A double dose of Dinovember, featuring a pair of armoured ankylosaurs from Canada's famous Dinosaur Park Formation. Edmontonia, on the left, is from the tail club-lacking lineage of ankylosaurs called nodosaurids. It had large shoulder spikes that would have made formidable offensive or defencive weapons. On the right is Dyoplosaurus, which was widely considered the same as the better-known Euoplocephalus until recently. It was one of the club-tailed ankylosaurids, but unlike Euoplocephalus, Dyoplosaurus had a fairly small, narrow tail club. Both nodosaurids and ankylosaurids would have relied on their tough armour and broad bodies to protect themselves from predatory tyrannosaurs.