STL Science Center

STL Science Center

16 May 2017

Edmontonia the Northern Dinosaur

Whenever we hear and see discoveries from the extreme northern or southern areas of the globe there is a certain amount of amazement not only because of the remoteness of the discoveries, but also because of the idea that dinosaurs lived in colder areas. This, of course, is regardless of the current climate in these areas. There are hypotheses of the climate, seasonal change, and temperatures of places like Antarctica and Alaska. These are discussed in the literature concerning Edmontonia on a fairly regular basis because many examples of the animal have been discovered at higher latitudes in both Canada and Alaska. New species of Edmontonia were hypothesized from Alaska during the 1990's, such as in this Gangloff article from 1993 calling the remains the first ankylosaur remains of their kind from Alaska. A great deal of the Edmontonia articles do not reach as far north but stop with remains from Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, which has held a wealth of Edmontonia remains that have been recovered. This has led to many studies revealing more about cranial anatomy, flexibility in naturally occurring dermal armors, or even the teeth of Edmontonia (or whatever ankylosaur you are personally interested in).

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