Talarurus

armored dinosaur · Late Cretaceous · Asia

Built like a tank. Talarurus was an ankylosaurid dinosaur, which means it had thick, bony armor covering its body, plates, and spikes running down its back to protect it from predators.

Found in fragments. Scientists discovered the first remains of Talarurus in 1948 in Asia, and they found five skulls from different individuals, though the earliest ones were broken into pieces.

Ancient timekeeper. This dinosaur lived during the Late Cretaceous period, roughly 96 to 89 million years ago, making it one of the oldest armored dinosaurs we know about.

Well-studied despite odds. Even though Talarurus is known from scattered specimens rather than complete skeletons, it's still one of the best understood ankylosaurines thanks to multiple discoveries of bones and skulls.