Minotaurasaurus is a monospecific genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur that lived in Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous in what is now the Djadochta Formation. The type and only species, Minotaurasaurus ramachandrani, is known from two skulls, a cervical vertebra and a cervical half ring. It was named and described in 2009 by Clifford Miles and Clark Miles. The first fossils of Minotaurasaurus were illegally exported out of Mongolia.It has been suggested to be a synonym of Tarchia but more recent publications consider it as a distinct genus.
Minotaurasaurus
Skull of Minotaurasaurus (far right) compared to other ankylosaurids
Type specimen of Tarchia teresae, a taxon closely related to Minotaurasaurus
Restoration of Minotaurasaurus in paleoenvironment
Ankylosauridae is a family of armored dinosaurs within Ankylosauria, and is the sister group to Nodosauridae. The oldest known Ankylosaurids date to around 122 million years ago and went extinct 66 million years ago during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. These animals were mainly herbivorous and were obligate quadrupeds, with leaf-shaped teeth and robust, scute-covered bodies. Ankylosaurids possess a distinctly domed and short snout, wedge-shaped osteoderms on their skull, scutes along their torso, and a tail club.
Ankylosauridae
Skull of first known ankylosaurid specimen, belonging to Ankylosaurus
Club of indeterminate ankylosaurine, CMN 349
Gastonia and other polacanthine dinosaurs have uncertain placement, possibly within Ankylosauridae