Ankylosaurus was built like a living tank, with extremely thick, bony plates of armor on its body, even including armored eyelids. Its tail also had a second function; it could act as a deadly club. The club was used to swing around and smash into an attacking dinosaur. Its club was so daunting that not even a Tyrannosaurus rex, would want to mess with this alarming species.
As a defensive creature, Ankylosaurus was one of nature's most perfect designs. It was almost impervious to being bitten from above and its long, strong tail muscles would have been able to swing its club with great force, however, the tail wasn't too flexible and could only swing 45 degrees in each direction.
There is very little fossil material from this dinosaur - it was apparently the last and largest of this family of armored dinosaurs. It walked fairly upright on all four legs, carrying its tail off the ground and it is theorized that it would drop to the ground when attacked to use its armor as a shield to cover its legs and underbelly.
Story[]
Creation[]
Ankylosaurus was successfully recreated by InGen in the Embryonics Administration lab on Isla Sorna in secret after the acquisition of InGen by Masrani Global Corporation and after the passing of the Gene Guard Act, alongside Corythosaurus, Spinosaurus, and Ceratosaurus. The Ankylosaurs were parented and fed in captivity until InGen abandoned the lab and released them into the wild. The Ankylosaurus clones had a dark tan underbelly with bright red patches on the eyes. It also had faded stripes of purple on its body and its armor was black.
The clones looked different from the original counterparts, such as, unlike the original, having sharp spikes protruding from its body, a different tail club shape, and the facial horns are broader than the original’s.
Being bred illegally and far after the Isla Nublar Incident, it was not planned be an attraction in Jurassic Park.
Living in the wild[]
After being cloned and experimented on for a period of 9 months in the late 90's, the unnamed InGen personnel set the dinosaurs free alongside the other illegally bred dinosaurs. Ankylosaurs roamed freely across the island for years to come, until they were illegally shipped from Isla Sorna to become eventual attractions in Jurassic World.
Being created illegally and against the knowledge of InGen or Masrani higher ups, it is unknown if the Ankylosaurus and the other new dinosaurs were affected by or were even bred to include the lysine deficiency that affected the original dinosaurs. It is unknown how many Ankylosaurs lived on the island, but they were known to have resided in the jungles of the northeast.
Isla Sorna Incident (2001)[]
While Billy Brennan and Paul and Amanda Kirby were looking for Dr. Alan Grant and Eric Kirby a small group of Ankylosaurs passed by the forest they were in. Another group of Ankylosaurus was briefly encountered near a river where Dr. Alan Grant and the Kirby family rode a boat through.
Jurassic World[]
InGen eventually used Ankylosaurus for Masrani Global Corporation's new dinosaur zoo Jurassic World on Isla Nublar. These specimens had grayish skin and dark gray armor with white spikes and were 1 meter longer than the ones originally bred on Sorna. The Ankylosaurs could be viewed in the Gyrosphere attraction. Jurassic World's clones can gallop from a threat fast and only uses its armor and club tail as a last resort, when a real Ankylosaur always used its armor and tail club mainly cause it couldn't really run at all and was well-protected by its body armor. These new clones have inaccurately-drooping tails most of the time.
Isla Nublar Incident (2015)[]
While in the Gyrosphere exhibit, Zach and Gray saw an opening in the perimeter fence and went in where they saw several Ankylosaurs. While in there, the Indominus rex attacked. The Ankylosaurs ran to avoid the fight, hitting the gyrosphere on their way, but the Indominus rex was able to get one, although it put up a fight and even smacked the Indominus rex in the face, the Indominus rex slashed one of its legs and flipped the Ankylosaurus over, proceeding to kill it.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom[]
A teaser for the upcoming sequel reveals that there are some Ankylosaurus that have have also survived the rampage of the Indominus rex, but are in danger once again when a volcano erupts and threatens all the dinosaurs on the island.
Some of the Ankylosaurus were captured and taken to Lockwood Manor to be sold off in auction, with one being successfully sold by Gunnar Eversol to a gentleman from Indonesia. The remaining Ankylosaurus are later freed along with the other dinosaurs by Claire and Maisie.