Elen'gasen
“ Armored dinosaurs are well known for their evolution of specialized tail weapons — paired tail spikes in stegosaurs and heavy tail clubs in advanced ankylosaurs. ”
– Dr. Sergio Soto-Acuña
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Dinosauria
Suborder: †Ankylosauria
Genius: †Stegouros
Species: †Stegouros elengassen
Descendant: †Kunbarrasaurus
Named by: Sergio Soto-Acuña
Year Published: 2021
Size: 1.8–2 metres (5.9–6.6 ft) long in length; 0.45 centimeters tall in height; 100 kilograms (220 lb) in weight
Lifespan: 23+ years
Activity: Crepuscular 🌇
Thermoregulate: Ectotherm
Type:
Reptiles (†Ankylosaurs)
Title:
Shin-wrecker
Anti-shin
Pantheon: Terran/Gaian 🇺🇳
Time Period: Campanian-Maastrichtian, 74.9–71.7 MYA
Alignment: Curious
Threat Level: ★★★★★★
Diet: Herbivorous
Elements: n/a
Inflicts: Bleeding 🩸
Weaknesses: Fire 🔥, Water 🌊, Rock 🪨, Air 🌬️, Electric ⚡, Leaf 🌿, Ice ❄️, Metal 🔩, Dark 🌑, Light 🔆, Arcane ✨, Fae 🧚
Casualties: ???
Based On: itself
Conservation Status:
Earth (Late Cretaceous): Not Evaluated (NE) – IUCN Red List
Earth (Paleocene-present): Critically Endangered (CR) – IUCN Red List (via Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event)
The Elen'gasen (Stegouros elegassen) is a genus of ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Dorotea Formation of southern Chile. Kunbarrasaurus from Australia and Antarctopelta from the Antarctic Peninsula are actually close relatives.
The type species Stegouros elengassen combines the Greek stegos, meaning "roof" and oura, meaning "tail", referring to the roof-like covering of the tail end. The specific name elengassen is derived from an armored creature in the mythology of the Aónik’enk, the indigenous inhabitants of the region
Stegouros is a very small ankylosaur. Unlike all other known ankylosaurs, the tail is short with no more than twenty-six caudal vertebrae, the last twelve of which are covered by seven pairs of large osteoderms. Relatively larger neural canal, longer dorsosacral vertebrae, higher and narrower vertebral bodies of the sacral vertebrae, absence of ossified tendons on the tail, teeth with six serrations on the anterior margin instead of seven or eight. Five additional vertebrae are enclosed in a structure made of osteoderms that has been compared to an Aztec macuahuitl.
Stegouros' tail was distinctive from that of other ankylosaurs, which had osteoderms like to a macuahuitl.
Stegouros and other animal fossils belonging to amphibians, mammals, fish, reptiles, and several invertebrates have also been discovered there, along with material belonging to indeterminate sauropods, theropods, and ornithischian dinosaurs. Despite their vulnerability, they have proven to be highly adaptable to many different environments. Using their own tail resembles a macuahuitl for self-defense against predators in Patagonia, and the world.
Docile and defensive small but terrible creatures, spend much of their time grazing and traveling in search of greener pastures and pinecones. If their young are in danger, the mother and father will try to protect them, head butting or using their tails to club the attacker causing bleeding.
Stegouros are calm creatures that other animals seek for their meat. But when they use their tail to intentionally hurt your legs and shins, they become defensive.
Stegouros was discovered in the Dorotea Formation, in the Río de Las Chinas Valley of the Magallanes Basin in Patagonian Chile.
Movement Pattern: Not a Migrant
Individual Type: Solo, later herd
Population Trend: Stable
Population:
Earth (Late Cretaceous): 50,000
Earth (Holocene): 0-70
Berbania: 70-90
Reinachos: 10,500-12,000
Locomotion: Terrestrial
Habitat: Temperate Coniferous Forests; Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests; Temperate Deciduous Forests; Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Subtropical Coniferous Forests; Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Salt Flats; Stone Forest; Tropical Coniferous Forests; Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Grasslands; Tropical Savannas and Shrublands; Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub; Mushroom Forests; Mushroom Fields; Deserts and Xeric Shrublands; Badlands; Flooded Grasslands and Savannas; Swamp; Bayous/Billabongs; Riparian; Wetland; Mangrove Forest; Cold Bamboo Forests; Tropical Bamboo Forests; Air-breathing Coral Reefs; Volcano; Warm Ghost Town; Cold Ghost Town; Ruined Skyscraper.
Earth:
Extinct: Argentina; Chile
Stegouros can be tamed, feeding with ferns.
Coming soon
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It was decided that only the tail was strictly distinctive. Contrary to all other Ankylosauria that are currently known, the tail is short, with no more than 26 caudal vertebrae, the final 12 of which are covered by seven pairs of massive osteoderms, the last five of which are once more fused together to form a flat linked structure.
Stegouros belonged to a unique lineage of small ankylosaurs that originated in southern Gondwana during the Cretaceous, together with Antarctopelta from the Antarctic Peninsula and Kunbarrasaurus from Australia. Before Stegouros introduced the defensive tail, provide the two species the distinctive tail.