Ankylosaurid scute ID

[Maxaurus]

Hello there,

 

Today an ankylosaurid scute was in my mail

 

Information from seller:

• Euoplocephalos tutus
• Cretaceous
• Judith river formation
• Alberta, Canada

 

One question about this: is Judith River fm the correct name if it is from Alberta? Isn't it Oldman Fm, or Dinosaur Park Fm then (territories of the Judith River group in Canada)?

Based on the information I found online.. in these two formations in Canada the following ankylosaurids were found:

• Oldman fm: Scolosaurus
• Dinosaur Park fm: Anodontosaurus, Dyoplosaurus, Edmontonia, Euoplocephalus, Panoplosaurus, Platypelta, Scolosaurus

 

I will ask the seller again for the exact location but I also wanted to ask some experts here..

 

Thank you in advance.

 

Best regards

Max

[patelinho7]

You sound right in stating that the JRF is not called that in Canada, it appears that the Oldman Fm. in Alberta and Two Medicine Fm. in Montana are stratigraphically equivalent. I don’t know about Dinosaur Park Fm., though. 

[Joy_Fossils]

As far as I know, the Judith river formation is not in Alberta, but it is used as another name for the Belly River group (Dinosaur park, Oldman, Foremost formations).  If it is from Euoplocephalus, then I am pretty sure it is from the Dinosaur Park formation.  I'm pretty sure it is extremely difficult to identify the species of an ankylosaur based on a singular scute. Euoplocephalus is the most prominent ankylosaur from the dinosaur park fm, so I guess that would be your best bet for species. It looks like a pretty nice scute! Me and my son are still looking for our first one.

Edited December 30, 2023 by Joy_Fossils