Probable ankylosaur ossicles from the middle Cenomanian Dunvegan formation of northwestern Alberta, Canada.

• Published in: PLoS ONE
• Main Authors: Michael E Burns, Matthew J Vavrek
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014
• Subjects: Medicine; R; Science; Q; Canada; Dunvegan; Peace River
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0096075; https://doaj.org/article/8512182ee9c84267802569c03e1fb5cb

A sample of six probable fragmentary ankylosaur ossicles, collected from Cenomanian deposits of the Dunvegan Formation along the Peace River, represent one of the first dinosaurian skeletal fossils reported from pre-Santonian deposits in Alberta. Specimens were identified as ankylosaur by means of a palaeohistological analysis. The primary tissue is composed of zonal interwoven structural fibre bundles with irregularly-shaped lacunae, unlike the elongate lacunae of the secondary lamellar bone. The locality represents the most northerly Cenomanian occurrence of ankylosaur skeletal remains. Further fieldwork in under-examined areas of the province carries potential for additional finds.