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Description
Did you know that ankylosaurs (the armored, sometimes club-tailed dinosaurs) almost always fossilize upside-down? It's because of a phenomenon called "bloat-n-float". If a dead ankylosaur ends up in the water, the gases that build up in its belly during decomposition combined with the heavy osteoderm armor on its back cause the animal to flip over. Eventually, the gases are released (sometimes explosively) and the carcass sinks and possibly fossilizes.

Here, a Sinankylosaurus corpse floats in a lake. A nanhsiungchelyid turtle climbs aboard to rest.

Description
Did you know that ankylosaurs (the armored, sometimes club-tailed dinosaurs) almost always fossilize upside-down? It's because of a phenomenon called "bloat-n-float". If a dead ankylosaur ends up in the water, the gases that build up in its belly during decomposition combined with the heavy osteoderm armor on its back cause the animal to flip over. Eventually, the gases are released (sometimes explosively) and the carcass sinks and possibly fossilizes.

Here, a Sinankylosaurus corpse floats in a lake. A nanhsiungchelyid turtle climbs aboard to rest.