Akainacephalus

Say it like this: “ah-KAY-nuh-SEF-uh-lus”

Akainacephalus johnsoni

Akainacephalus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in the United States.

Quiz me on Akainacephalus

When: Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Named in: 2018 · Wiersma, J. P.; Irmis, R. B.
Hip height: 1 m · 3 ft
Length: 3.8 m · 12 ft
Weight: 500 kg · 1,102 lb
Found in: the United States · Kaiparowits
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: armored dinosaur · Ankylosaur
Family branch: Ankylosaurinae

The story in short

The genus Akainacephalus dates to 2018, the year J. P. Wiersma and R. B. Irmis described it. The name means “thorn head.”

Fossils referred to Akainacephalus date to the Late Cretaceous (Campanian), roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Kaiparowits Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Akainacephalus at a length near 3.8 m, hips about 1 m high, and a body mass around 500 kg.

On the family tree it sits in Ankylosaurinae, among the armored dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Ankylosaurus

Ankylosaurus magniventris

Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago

Anodontosaurus

Anodontosaurus lambei

Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian) · roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago

Bissektipelta

Bissektipelta archibaldi

Late Cretaceous (Turonian) · roughly 93.9 to 89.8 million years ago