title: Probable ankylosaur ossicles from the middle Cenomanian Dunvegan formation of northwestern Alberta, Canada.
abstract: A sample of six probable fragmentary ankylosaur ossicles, collected from Cenomanian deposits of the Dunvegan Formation along the Peace River, represent one of the first dinosaurian skeletal fossils reported from pre-Santonian deposits in Alberta. Specimens were identified as ankylosaur by means of a palaeohistological analysis. The primary tissue is composed of zonal interwoven structural fibre bundles with irregularly-shaped lacunae, unlike the elongate lacunae of the secondary lamellar bone. The locality represents the most northerly Cenomanian occurrence of ankylosaur skeletal remains. Further fieldwork in under-examined areas of the province carries potential for additional finds.
authors.affiliation: Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.affiliation: Pipestone Creek Dinosaur Initiative, Clairmont, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Vavrek
mesh_terms: D000416:Alberta; D000818:Animals; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D025061:Dinosaurs / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification; D005580:Fossils; D005843:Geography; D045483:Rivers; D012863:Skeleton