We’ve been asking you to send your writing, paintings, drawings or photographs with a nature theme in to us at Nature Matters for our Your Own Words competition. One of our readers, Tan Yi-Xuen, aged 10 has done just that. Their drawing of an ankylosaur is an excellent one, I’m sure you’ll agree. Well worth the £50 of Amazon vouchers they will get as a reward for their efforts!
Are you familiar with ankylosaurs? They were formidable beasts who roamed the Earth millions of years ago during the age of the dinosaurs. Here are some facts about ankylosaurs which may help you to appreciate Tan Yi-Xuen’s drawing:
- Ankylosaurs had heavy plates on their backs to protect them – much like a suit of medieval armour or a modern tank
- The ankylosaur’s only weak spot was its belly, which was soft and not armoured. To reach this though, any predator would have to flip the ankylosaur onto its back – not easy to do to a creature weighing several tonnes!
They were a four-legged dinosaur and were herbivores – that means they ate vegetation rather than meat- Besides its plate, the ankylosaur had another defence – its club-like tail. This had a huge ball of fused bone at its tip, capable of breaking the bones of any would-be attacker
- Ankylosaurs were large animals – they could grow to as long as 10 metres (33 feet). That’s as tall as a house!
Thank you Tan Yi-Xuen – your £50 Amazon voucher is on its way! If you’d like to earn yourself a £50 voucher then do as Tan Yi-Xuen did and send your work in to us at Nature Matters. You’ll find the details on our competitions page. Maybe your artwork, writing or photograph will be the next to be featured in Nature Matters.