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Published: 2021-02-10 23:52:07 +0000 UTC; Views: 12624; Favourites: 123; Downloads: 4
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The Afrorhabdodonts are one of the most distinctive lineages of herbivorous dinosaurs to originate from the African continent. Basal forms were modestly sized and generalistic bipedal herbivores, but during the Eocene quickly radiated into a number of sometimes quite starkly different families. The Zallingersaurids adapted to a high browsing niche somewhat reminiscent of the extinct Therizinosaurs or the large ground sloths of Our World, while the Ngumasauroids became increasingly heavily built and developed armoured coats of osteoderms utilized in defence. Angotodon was a basal member of this clade and dwelt in the tropical savannah woodlands of Late Oligocene Ethiopia.Β The genus was small compared to its later more derived relatives, measuring just 3m long and retaining a fluctuative bipedal posture. In form, A. morloi somewhat resembled the Jurassic Thyreophoran Scelidosaurus, with robust heavy jaws and leaf shaped teeth suitable for slicing vegetation. The holotype specimen was found with associated osteoderms, the size and shape of which suggest that Angotodonβs back, tail and flanks were covered with a rows of small, studded armor plates. During the Early Miocene, Ngumasauroids would spread out of Africa and into Eurasia, where they would face little competition. Later forms would become obligate quadrupeds with much denser coats of osteoderm armor, sporting a diverse array of spines, bosses and protrusions, filling an environmental role left unoccupied since the extinction the Nodosaurs and Ankylosaurs.Related content
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