Euoplocephalus

Euoplocephalus was an ankylosaur from the Late Cretaceous.

Description
Euoplocephalus was one of the largest ankylosaurs, measuring 6 meters in length and weighing approximately 2 tonnes. Like others in its family, Euoplocephalus was known for its armor plating and tail club. Its armor was so extensive that it even covered tiny parts of the body such as its eyelids.

Classification
Originally, Euoplocephalus was thought to be a type of stegosaur, but it was later reclassified properly as a type of ankylosaur. A study in 2013 found Euoplocephalus to be the sister taxon of Ankylosaurus.

Discovery
Fossils of Euoplocephalus were first discovered in 1897 by paleontologist Lawrence Lambe in what is now Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta. He described it in 1902 as Stereocephalus tutus. However, the genus name already belonged to a type of beetle, so Lambe had to rename it in 1910 to Euoplocephalus tutus.

Over the following years, many other ankylosaurid dinosaurs have been found from roughly the same time and place, and they were all reassigned to the Euoplocephalus genus. Recently, however, these genera are being resurrected.

Paleobiology
Euplocephalus was a herbivore, and had a broad muzzle suited for eating different types of plants. A study in 2001 found that Euoplocephalus used complex jaw movements in order to shear food.