Zuul crurivastator
By Jack Wood on @thewoodparable
Name: Zuul crurivastator
Name Meaning: Refers to Zul the Gatekeeper of Gozer, a monster from Ghostbusters
First Described: 2017
Described By: Arbour & Evans
Classification: Dinosauria, Ornithischia, Genasauria, Thyreophora, Eurypoda, Ankylosauria, Ankylosauridae, Ankylosaurinae, Ankylosaurini
Zuul is a very recently described genus of Ankylosaurin from the Judith River Formation of Montana, living about 76.2 to 75.2 million years ago, in the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous. It was exceptionally well preserved, including some portions of soft tissue, with a nearly complete skull, and much of the skeleton. It was entombed in a very large block, and as such has not yet been completely studied, though the skull, some ribs, osteoderms, skin impression, and parts of the tail. The skull underwent some compression during fossilization; though it can be said to have broad nostril, with extensive skull osteoderms surrounding the nostrils as well as triangular osteoderms behind the eyes, with a skull in general similar to that of Euoplocephalus from the top, but somewhat flatter, though this could be due to the preservation of the skull. It had huge horns on its cheeks as well. It has the longest known tail club of any Ankylosaurine in North America, with may osteoderms and horny sheaths around the osteoderms of the tail preserved, as well as the stiffening structures to keep the tail straight, with eight tendons on each side of the handle of the tail, arranged parallel to one another. Osteoderms were even found on this handle, which has not been found previously in a North American Ankylosaurine. These osteoderms are triangular, and sharply pointed, with the first three covered in a horny sheath. The club itself looked a bit squared-off from the upper side of the animal, and flat for a tail club in general, with the osteoderms on the end of the club being spongy and pitted. Zuul was found to be closely related to other Ankylosaurines such as Scolosaurus, Dyoplosaurus, Anodontosaurus, and Ankylosaurus, indicating it probably would have been very similar to those animals in life. Zuul demonstrates, in addition, that Ankylosaurines in North America were evolving rapidly in the Late Cretaceous, much as Ceratopsians, Hadrosaurs, Pachycephalosaurs, and Tyrannosaurs were at the time, which has exciting implications for the evolutionary pressures on dinosaurs during this time in this location.
Source:
Arbour, V. M., & D. C. Evans. 2017. A new ankylosaurine dinosaur from the Judith River Formation of Montana, USA, based on an exceptional skeleton with soft tissue preservation. Royal Society Open Science 4: 161086. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.161086.
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