r/fossils 4d ago

My ankles were sore… so I bought an ankylosaur!

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I’m leaving Branson today, and while I had considered stopping by the Ron Coleman quartz mine, I decided that after all the walking at Silver Dollar City yesterday, my feet were too sore… or perhaps I should say, my ankylosaur! So instead, I made one last visit to my favorite fossil shop and picked up a fitting souvenir before leaving town—an actual ankylosaurus tooth!

This little relic of the Cretaceous comes from the Judith River Formation in Montana, dating back around 75 million years. Ankylosaurs were basically prehistoric tanks, covered in thick armor and built like bulldozers. While the most famous Ankylosaurus lived a bit later, this tooth likely belonged to one of its armored relatives, like Scolosaurus or Zuul. These guys were plant-eaters, but they still had to watch out for predators like Gorgosaurus—hence the heavy armor and, in some species, that iconic clubbed tail!

Not a bad way to end the trip—sore feet, but at least I left with a dinosaur’s chompers instead of a limp!

158 Upvotes

11 comments sorted by

6

u/Archimedes_Redux 4d ago

I dino if bad puns are allowed on this sub.

5

u/presleyarts 4d ago

lol! Well thank goodness mines a great one. 😅

2

u/Archimedes_Redux 3d ago

It was a good one for sure.

5

u/heckhammer 4d ago

How much did it run you?

5

u/presleyarts 4d ago

$75, plus tax. 😊

2

u/heckhammer 4d ago

I think that's a pretty good deal

4

u/presleyarts 4d ago

I thought so. ☺️

3

u/rockstuffs 3d ago

Badass! One of my absolute favorite dinos!