There is No Ankylosaur. There is Only Zuul – #365papers – 2017 – 131

#365papers for May 11, 2017

Arbour and Evans, 2017, A new ankylosaurine dinosaur from the Judith River Formation of Montana, USA, based on an exceptional skeleton with soft tissue preservation: Royal Society Open Science, v. 4, 161086.

What’s it about?

Here is a new species of armored dinosaur named after the demon Zuul the Gatekeeper of Gozer from the 1984 movie Ghostbusters. This fossil includes magnificent preservation of skin and dermal skeleton of the head and back and also of the tail club.

Why does it matter?

Besides just being a cool find, the preservation of the skin and tail club take us closer to understanding what ankylosaurs really looked like in life.

Why did I read this?

There is no Penny. There is only Zuul.