SALT LAKE CITY — A dinosaur that was covered in bony armor from its spiky head to its clubbed tail has been unveiled at a museum in Utah.

The species of ankylosaur was a squat plant-eater that roamed southern Utah on four legs about 76 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous Period.

This artist's rendering shows an ankylosaur, a plant-eater that roamed southern Utah about 76 million years ago. Natural History Museum of Utah via AP

At that time, the desert state was hot and humid, covered with slow-moving streams and rivers as well as large conifer trees, paleontologist Randall Irmis said.

The dinosaur was about as long as a large alligator and stood at a height that would have been about waist-high for a tall human.

It likely used its distinctive clubbed tail and armor for protection, though they could also have been used for display.

The fossil unveiled Thursday at the Natural History Museum of Utah was first discovered in 2008 in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, a rich dinosaur repository in southern Utah.

Researchers were expecting the dinosaur to have smooth bony armor on its skull like other North American ankylosaurs, but were surprised to find evidence that it instead had spiky armor on its head and snout, similar to fossils found in Asia.

Paleontologists believe the animals migrated to North America several times over the eons when lowered sea levels allowed them to cross a land bridge.

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