Ankylosaurus Coloring Pages

A moving fortress of the Cretaceous period! Ankylosaurus was a dinosaur covered in hard armor. It appeared at the very end of the dinosaur age. People called it a "moving fortress" because of its tough body. It was strong enough to fight off attacks from meat-eating dinosaurs!

Name and English origins

Its name comes from its special body structure.

• English name: Ankylosaurus

• What the name means: In Greek, it means "fused lizard" or "bent lizard." It got this name because its bones were tightly joined together to make a super strong body.

• Dinosaur group: It belongs to a group of armored dinosaurs called "Ankylosauridae." Dinosaurs in this group had armor-like plates on their backs and big bone clubs on the tips of their tails.

Size and where it lived

• When it lived: It lived in the "Late Cretaceous period," about 68 million to 66 million years ago.

• Where it lived: It lived mostly in North America (where the United States and Canada are today).

• Size: It was about 7 to 8 meters long and weighed 4 to 8 tons. That is as heavy as an African elephant, or even heavier!

Food and lifestyle

• What it ate: It was a plant-eater (herbivore).

• How it ate: It ate ferns growing close to the ground and leaves from low trees. The tip of its mouth was like a beak. It used many small teeth to grind up plants and eat them.

Amazing features of Ankylosaurus

Ankylosaurus had some amazing features to help it survive.

1. Full-body armor: Hard plates made of bone were set into its skin from the top of its head to the base of its tail. Even its eyelids were protected by hard bone! Isn't that surprising?

2. Tail hammer: It had a giant club at the end of its tail made of solid bone. When a meat-eating dinosaur attacked, Ankylosaurus swung this powerful hammer with all its might to break the enemy's legs and protect itself.

3. Low body posture: Its belly did not have armor and was soft. So when enemies attacked, it probably crouched flat on the ground. That way, it showed only its hard, armored back to stay safe.

Here are some tips to help you show how strong Ankylosaurus is!

Make the armor look bumpy and rough

• Base color: Try coloring the whole body with brown, dark green, or gray so it could blend into deserts or forests easily.

• Make it pop: Add shadows around the spikes on its back and raised parts using black or dark brown. This makes it look hard like a rock. If you make the tips of the spikes light beige, they will look extra sharp!

Make the tail club stand out

• The big club at the tip of the tail is made of solid bone. Color it with some light gray or mix in some white to make it shiny. This shows how strong it is as a weapon!

Add skin patterns

• On parts without armor, like its belly or the tops of its legs, draw lots of tiny little dots (scale patterns). This will make your dinosaur look even more real!

A Body Like a "Living Tank"

The biggest feature of Ankylosaurus is the bumpy, hard armor covering its back. This armor was made of bone, and it was so tough that even the sharp teeth of meat-eating dinosaurs could not bite through it. Wow, even its eyelids were protected by bone armor!

The Tail Hammer Was Its Strongest Weapon

There is a huge hammer made of bone at the end of its tail. When enemies came close, it swung this hammer around at super fast speeds to attack. They say it was powerful enough to break a Tyrannosaurus's bones!

Its Tummy Was Its Soft Weak Spot

Its back had unbeatable defense, but its tummy side had no armor and was just soft skin. So when enemies attacked, it would lie flat on the ground to hide its weak tummy and protect itself.

Its Name Means "Fused Lizard"

The name Ankylosaurus means "fused lizard". It got this name because the armor on its back and the bones in its head fit together tightly like puzzle pieces with no gaps at all.