Ankylosaurinae

Ankylosaurines Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 105–66 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Skull of Saichania
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Dinosauria
Order:	†Ornithischia
Family:	†Ankylosauridae
Subfamily:	†Ankylosaurinae Brown, 1908
Genera
Crichtonpelta Tsagantegia Zhejiangosaurus Pinacosaurus Saichania Tarchia Zaraapelta Ankylosaurini

Ankylosaurinae is a subfamily of ankylosaurid dinosaurs, existing from the Early Cretaceous about 105 million years ago until the end of the Late Cretaceous, about 66 mya. Many genera are included in the clade, such as Ankylosaurus, Pinacosaurus, Cedarpelta, and Gobisaurus.

Features

Ankylosaurines are defined as being closer relatives to Ankylosaurus than to Shamosaurus.

Diagnostic features of ankylosaurines include the nuchal shelf that obscures the occiput in dorsal view, and the quadrate condyle which is obscured lightly by the quadratojugal boss.

Taxonomy

The following is based on Arbour and Currie (2015):

• Ankylosaurinae
  • Crichtonpelta
  • Tsagantegia
  • Zhejiangosaurus
  • Pinacosaurus
  • Unnamed clade
    • Saichania
    • Tarchia
    • Zaraapelta
  • Ankylosaurini
    • Dyoplosaurus
    • Unnamed clade
      • Talarurus
      • Nodocephalosaurus
    • Unnamed clade
      • Ankylosaurus
      • Anodontosaurus
      • Euoplocephalus
      • Scolosaurus
      • Ziapelta

Phylogeny

Near the base of Ankylosaurinae is Tsagantegia longicraniallis, which is represented by a medium-sized skull (length: 30 cm, width: 25 cm) from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian – Santonian) of Mongolia. Unlike other ankylosaurines, in Tsagantegia the cranial ornamentation is not subdivided into a number of polygons, but is amorphous. Furthermore, in comparison to other ankylosaurines, Tsagantegia had weak squamosal and quadratojugal bosses.

The following cladogram is based on the 50% majority rule phylogenetic analysis of Arbour & Currie (2015):

Ankylosaurinae	Crichtonpelta Tsagantegia Zhejiangosaurus Pinacosaurus Saichania Tarchia Zaraapelta Ankylosaurini Dyoplosaurus Talarurus Nodocephalosaurus Ankylosaurus Anodontosaurus Euoplocephalus Scolosaurus Ziapelta