Animantarx
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Animantarx Temporal range: 104.46–98.37 Ma |
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| Reconstructed skeleton | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | †Ornithischia |
| Suborder: | †Ankylosauria |
| Family: | †Nodosauridae |
| Genus: |
†Animantarx Carpenter et al., 1999 |
| Type species | |
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†Animantarx ramaljonesi Carpenter et al., 1999 |
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Animantarx (/ænᵻˈmæntɑːrks/ an-i-MAN-tarks; "living citadel") is a genus of nodosaurid ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of western North America. Like other nodosaurs, it would have been a slow-moving quadrupedal herbivore covered in heavy armor scutes, but without a tail club. The skull measures approximately 25 cm (10 inches) in length, suggesting the animal as a whole was no more than 3 meters (10 feet) long.
The generic name is composed of the Latin words animatus ("living" or "animated") and arx ("fortress" or "citadel"), referring to its armored nature. In particular, the name is a reference to a comment made by paleontologist R. S. Lull about ankylosaurs, that as "an animated citadel, these animals must have been practically unassailable..." The type species is the only one known so far, and is called A. ramaljonesi after its discoverer, Ramal Jones. His wife, Carol Jones, also discovered the contemporaneous dinosaur Eolambia nearby.
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