Named for its "well armored head," Euoplocephalus was a member of the family of ankylosaurs. These "fused lizards" were best known by the bones of Ankylosaurus, the biggest of them all. There were at least twelve different types within the family and Euoplocephalus was typical in size and weight. It probably weighed nearly 3 tons and has been dug up in places as far apart as Alberta and Sinkiang, which is in northwest China.

All ankylosaurs were about the size of a modern battle tank. They had different arrangements of armored bands down their backs with ridged plates and blunt spikes. Euoplocephalus had round nostrils and a , toothless beak. Row upon row of armored back plates helped protect it from predators. At the end of its tail it had a large, bony club. Ankylosaurids were among the last dinosaurs to appear before all dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago. Euoplocephalus was well adapted to munching plants and lush greenery while protected from attack.

Two closely related families of ankylosaurs were the "fused lizards" and the "node lizards." Both appeared from a common ancestor at the beginning of the Cretaceous period and have been found all over Europe, North America, and Asia. Node lizards included Acanthopholis, Hylaeosaurus, Nodosaurus, Panoplosaurus, and Silvisaurus.

Location: USA, Canada

Diet: Herbaceceous plants

Size: Length 7m

      Weight 2 tonnes

Classification:

Family Ankylosauridae

Infraorder Ankylosauria

Suborder Thyreophora

Order Ornithischia

Time (million years ago): 73