Craterosaurus

Say it like this: “KRAY-tuh-ro-SOR-us”

Craterosaurus pottonensis

Craterosaurus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in the United Kingdom.

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When: Early Cretaceous (Berriasian · Valanginian · Hauterivian) · roughly 143.1 to 125.8 million years ago
Named in: 1874 · Seeley, H. G.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 4 m · 13 ft
Weight: 560 kg · 1,235 lb
Found in: the United Kingdom · Woburn Sands
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: plated dinosaur · Stegosaur
Family branch: Stegosauria

The story in short

Craterosaurus was formally named in 1874 by H. G. Seeley. The name means “bowl reptile.”

It lived in the Early Cretaceous (Berriasian · Valanginian · Hauterivian), roughly 143.1 to 125.8 million years ago. Finds come from the United Kingdom, including the Woburn Sands Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Craterosaurus at a length near 4 m and a body mass around 560 kg.

On the family tree it sits in Stegosauria, among the plated dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Amargastegos

Amargastegos brevicollus

Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago

Baiyinosaurus

Baiyinosaurus baojiensis

Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) · roughly 168.2 to 165.3 million years ago

Bashanosaurus

Bashanosaurus primitivus

Middle Jurassic · Late Jurassic (Bajocian–Oxfordian) · roughly 170.9 to 154.8 million years ago