Ankylosaurs were all herbivorous (plant-eating), quadrupedal (four-legged) ornithischians. They are characterized by an armor of spines, knobs, and spikes on their backs. There were two groups of ankylosaurus, one with narrow heads and clubless tails (nodosaurids), and the other with broad heads and heavy clubs at the end of their tails (ankylosaurids).

Saichania chulsanensis was a large Mongolian ankylosaurid closely related to Ankylosaurus. It was heavily armored with its ventral and dorsal side covered by dermal ossifications. It also sported spikes along the side of the body. Rinchen Barsbold (Geological Institute, Mongolian Academy of Science) described its side armor as the crests of waves which appear in the Japanese prints of Hokusai. These armors were light for their size due to their hollow and macroporous structure. As the spikes would have been covered by horny sheath, they would have looked more bigger and sharper during its lifetime.

As most Mongolian ankylosaur-bearing strata also yield large predators that might have fed on them, it is easy to imagine that Saichania used their armors to fend off predators such as Tarbosaurus. It may have swept its heavy tail club just above the ground to strike the ankles of a predator (just imagine how it would hurt!). The club may also have been used to compete for females. Some scientists, such as John R. Horner, assume that sexual attraction is the reason these characteristics evolved.

Saichania had a more complex narial passage than that of other ankylosaurids. It is suggested that this structure was suited to cooling and damping inhaled air. Other facts suggesting that Saichania lived in a hot and dry environment seem to support this hypothesis.

This specimen had long been displayed in the Natural History Museum in Mongolia in a lying-on-stomach posture. For this exhibition, it has been remounted in standing posture for the first time ever.

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