Spiky Armored Dinosaur Discovered in Utah Lived on a Lost Continent
An almost complete fossil of an armored dinosaur, discovered in southern Utah in 2008, has just gone on display in the Salt Lake City. Interestingly, this species, estimated to have roamed the planet some 76 million years ago, lived on what is now known as the lost continent of Laramidia.
As it turns out, geologist estimate that Akainacephalus johnsoni lived millions of years ago on a separate land mass from the time that the continent of North America was split into two.
Around the time that this creature is said to roam the Earth, sea levels were at one of its highest ever in the history of the Planet, according to CNN. Parts of what is now the North American continent has been under water during that epoch, split into half by what is now called the Western Interior Seaway.
The western half of the ancient landform was called Laramidia, which was the home of the newly discovered ankylosaur. It would eventually merge with the eastern continent of Appalachia to form the modern continent of North America, as Fox News pointed out.
The scientific name of the dinosaur was in honor of a retired chemist who contributed to preparing the skull.
"I never thought that I would have the opportunity to actually work on fossils that could be important for paleontologists," museum volunteer Randy Johnson said in a statement.
"Now that I'm a museum volunteer, I'm getting the opportunity to work on a large variety of fossils and consult with top paleontologists -- it's like a dream second career. I couldn't believe it when they told me they are naming the ankylosaur after me, a once in a lifetime honor," the former chemist continued.
The assembled fossil is now on display in the National History Museum of Utah.
