Ankylosaurus explained to kids

Ankylosaurus was a large, plant-eating dinosaur that lived during the Cretaceous period, about 68-66 million years ago. It was one of the last dinosaurs to live before the mass extinction that killed them all. Ankylosaurus was a very big dinosaur, measuring up to 30 feet long and weighing up to 4 tons! It had a wide, low body and a long tail. Its head was small and had a beak-like mouth. Ankylosaurus was covered in armor from head to tail. This armor was made up of large, hard plates called osteoderms. The osteoderms on its back were especially large and thick. Ankylosaurus also had a club-like tail that it could swing at predators. This tail was also covered in armor and had spikes on the end. Ankylosaurus lived in what is now North America. It probably ate plants like ferns, bushes, and small trees. Ankylosaurus was a herbivore, which means it didn't eat meat. Ankylosaurus was a slow-moving dinosaur, but it didn't need to move fast to escape predators. Its armor made it very difficult for predators to hurt it. When predators did try to attack, Ankylosaurus could swing its tail at them, which would knock them down. Ankylosaurus was discovered in 1906 by paleontologist Barnum Brown. He found the first fossilized bones of this dinosaur in Wyoming, United States.