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DinosaurBoy65 — Stridsvagn

#ankylosaur #dinosaur #saurogea #speculativezoology #speculativedinosaurs
Published: 2016-09-05 19:43:45 +0000 UTC; Views: 505; Favourites: 9; Downloads: 4
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Description (I decided to get rid of the overused common name of dreadnaught & opted for something more unique. I personally like this name much better.)
Height:6-8 ft
Length:30-34 ft
Weight:5-8 tons
Diet:Herbivore
Habitat:Grasslands, Treed Savannah/Dryforest
Phlogeny:Ankylosauridae, Ankylosurinae, Spinopeltasaurini
Description: 
    Stridsvagns (Spinopeltasaurus browni) are the most heavily armored dinosaur on Saurogea. It's an ankylosaur, a group of dinosaurs well known for their armored hides & clubbed tails. The body of a Stridsvagn is mostly covered in osteoderms. Anywhere that isn't is covered in thick skin. The microstructure of the osteoderms is almost identical to that of Kevlar. The osteoderms are also useful for storing minerals.Their eyesight is rather poor, but their sense of smell & hearing are exceptionally well developed. Their thagomizers differ from other ankylosaurs due to their spiked appearance. They have long, black tongues that they use to help manipulate food.

Ontogeny:
    Eggs are laid in a large nest made up of leaves & soil. A female can lay 4-7 eggs a season. The eggs will incubate for 2 months. They fall prey to varanids, terrestrial crocodiles, troodonts, & other small carnivores. The mother watches the eggs while rarely feeding. After 2 months of dedication & patience, the eggs begin to hatch. The babies are born w/ a cryptic mix of tans & yellows. Their armor is little more than large scales at this point. The mother will only go on defending her offspring for 2 years. By that time, the armor of juveniles are already useful for defense. They reach sexual maturity at 5 & full size at 8. The males compete for mates by standing next to each other at opposite ends & hitting each other in the face w/ their mace tails. Their skulls are reinforced with thicker armor to help withstand the blows. Stridsvagns mate back-to-back. After this the male & female will go their separate ways. They can live to be quite old. Some individuals are theorized to be over 70 years old.

Lifestyle:
   They have wide muzzles & mostly specialize as low browsers. They have a highly variable diet. Stridsvagns feed on shrubs, dry grass, root, tubers,cycads & occasionally large arthropods during tough times. They're also known to strip bark. Stridsvagns are solitary ankylosaurs & have loose territories with variable sizes depending on available resources. There are small loosely connected groups known. It's as of yet unknown as to why these groups appear. Mating isn't exactly plausible, as these groups appear outside of the mating season. Another theory is that these grouping are of mothers & their adult offspring. Many animals are known to do this such as tigers. The answer as to why these grouping occur are still, as of yet, unknown. Due to their defenses, adults have few predators. Horned Tyrants seem to be the only animals to prey on adult Stridsvagns. This is a rare occurrence as the tyrannosaurs know that one hit from that tail club could mean the end of their lives. Younger tyrants are known to harass the walking tanks for fun. This is little more than a nuisance for the Stridsvagns however. They're commonly associated with small birds & azhdarchids which feed on the parasites. They also provide extra eyes to watch for a would-be attacker.  
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