Talarurus

Talarurus (ˌtæləˈrʊərəs ; meaning "basket tail" or "wicker tail") is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period, about 96 million to 89 million years ago. The first remains of Talarurus were discovered in 1948 and later described by the Russian paleontologist Evgeny Maleev with the type species T. plicatospineus. It is known from multiple yet sparse specimens, making it one of the most well known ankylosaurines, along with Pinacosaurus. Elements from the specimens consists of various bones from the body; five skulls have been discovered and assigned to the genus, although the first two were very fragmented. It was a medium-sized, heavily built, ground-dwelling, quadrupedal herbivore, that could grow up to long and weighed about , nearly a ton. Like other ankylosaurs it had heavy armour and a club on its tail, limiting its speed. Talarurus is classified as a member of the Ankylosauria, in the Ankylosaurinae, a group of derived ankylosaurs. Talarurus is known from the Bayan Shireh Formation, being likely niche partitioned with Tsagantegia, as indicated by its muzzle, which has a rectangular shape specialized for grazing. These represent the oldest known ankylosaurines from Asia, although they are not very closely related to each other. It appears that the closest relative of Talarurus was Nodocephalosaurus, an ankylosaurin with similar facial osteoderms. Most of the skeletal mounts of Talarurus are outdated by numerous issues, such as the ribs pointing downward instead of to the sides, as in most ankylosaurs; an inaccurate skull cast which is mainly based on related species and not on the available skull material; very splayed arms and legs; four digits on the feet, which in reality only had three as indicated by related ankylosaurines. All of these mistakes were made by anatomical misunderstandings since ankylosaurs were not fully known at that time, also, Talarurus is not known from a complete skeleton. Talarurus remains have been discovered in the southeastern parts of the Gobi Desert in what is now Mongolia.