Dinosaur Sighting: A Flying Ankylosaur

Have you ever seen an Ankylosaurus fly? Stout and covered in heavy armor, ankylosaurs were arguably the least aerodynamic of all dinosaurs, but two months ago the Houston Museum of Natural Science treated onlookers to such a sight as they lifted their ankylosaur sculpture out of its old exhibit.

The HMNS Ankylosaurus isn't just any dinosaur, though. It is one of the surviving dinosaur sculptures created for the Sinclair Oil Company's "Dinoland" exhibit at the 1964-1965 World's Fair in New York City. After touring the country, the Ankylosaurus was donated to the HMNS in 1970, but the dinosaur no longer looks like it originally did. Repositioned, given a new paint job, and harassed by a pack of "raptors," the modern HMNS Ankylosaurus is a more active and dynamic animal than the original Sinclair version. The dinosaur will be back on display when the museum opens its new dinosaur exhibit next year.

Have you stumbled across a dinosaur in an unexpected place? If you have, and have a photo of the encounter, send it to us via [email protected]!

You can track previous dinosaur sightings here.

Riley Black | | READ MORE

Riley Black is the author of The Last Days of the Dinosaurs and many other books. She is a science correspondent for Smithsonian magazine covering fossils and natural history, and she writes about the prehistoric past for a variety of publications.