TAXONOMIC UTILITY OF ANKYLOSAUR (DINOSAURIA, ORNITHISCHIA) OSTEODERMS: GLYPTODONTOPELTA MIMUS FORD, 2000: A TEST CASE

A new nodosaurid specimen from the Upper Cretaceous Naashoibito Member of the Ojo Alamo Formation in the San Juan Basin, New Mexico is assigned to Glyptodontopelta mimus Ford, 2000 based on characters of internal (histological) and external osteoderm morphology. This specimen is from the same stratigraphic horizon as the holotype (USNM 8610), and because it displays a wide range of osteoderm morphotypes, it can be used as a basis for comparison of osteoderm shape and sculpturing among different ankylosaur taxa. Its unique surface texture differentiates it from other Upper Cretaceous ankylosaurids and nodosaurids (Ankylosaurus, Nodocephalosaurus, Edmontonia, Euoplocephalus, and Panoplosaurus) and demonstrates that G. mimus is a valid taxon. The nodosaurid Edmontonia australis Ford, 2000 is considered a subjective junior synonym of G. mimus based on having the same surface texture and shape of the medial cervical osteoderms. Ankylosaur osteoderms are distinctive to at least the genus level and are commonly found in Upper Cretaceous strata, thus they have great biostratigraphic utility.