Overview

Armoured dinosaurs were some of the earliest dinosaurs named, including the ankylosaur Hylaeosaurus in 1833 and Stegosaurus in 1877. But these armoured dinosaurs, or Thyreophorans, have been the least studied dinosaurs because they lack the visceral appeal of Tyrannosaurus and the fossil abundance of ceratopsians and hadrosaurs. The incredible diversity of armoured dinosaurs as only recently been appreciated, owing to the discovery of new stegosaurs in the Jurassic of China and the United States, and of new ankylosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous of North America. These discoveries have been the impetus in recent years for renewed interest in thyreophorans. ""The Armored Dinosaurs"" brings together the latest studies by an international group of dinosaur palaeontologists and provides descriptions of the original specimens of Hyaleosaurus and Stegosaurus, names new thyreophorans, and re-describes historically important specimens from Europe. The contributors are Paul M. Barrett, John Bird, William T. Blows, Don Burge, Kenneth Carpenter, H. Trevor Clifford, Margery C. Coombs, Rodolfo A. Corio, Philip J. Currie, Tracy L. Ford, Peter M. Galton, Robert W. Gaston, James I.Kirkland, Martin G. Lockley, Richard T. McCrea, Christian A. Meyer, Ralph E. Molnar, David B. Norman, Paul Penkalski, Xabier Pereda-Suberbiola, A. P. Russell, N. Rybczynski, Leonardo Salgado, Jennifer Schellenbach, and M. K. Vickaryous.

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Reviews

<p> Dinosaurs are divided into several groups, and most will recognize thecarnivores, including Tyranosaurus and Velociraptor; herbivores like Apatosaurus(once Brontosaurus); and duckbills and horned dinosaurs, among them Saurolophus andTriceratops. But another group, the armored dinosaurs, is much less familiar, partlybecause their fossils are not as common as those of other dinosaurs and because theyare studied less. The armored dinosaurs, the Ankylosauria, make up at least 30genera and are widely distributed worldwide. Some 21 papers, all essentiallyoriginal research on stegosaurs and ankylosaurs, are included; a few providedescriptions of new species as these new fossils are either significant for theirprimitiveness or location. Most of the papers are anatomical and functional analysesof armored dinosaur anatomy, particularly the peculiar blade-like teeth and jawmovement. Papers discuss endocranial (gross brain structure) anatomy; stegosaurosteomyelitis; the first disarticulated sk

Author Information

Kenneth Carpenter is the dinosaur paleontologist for the Denver Museum of Natural History and author of Eggs, Nests, and Baby Dinosaurs. He is co-editor of Mesozoic Vertebrate Life, Dinosaur Systematics, Dinosaur Eggs and Babies, and The Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation.

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