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armored dinosaur · Doubtful name
Cryptosaurus
Say it like this: “KRIP-to-SOR-us”
Cryptosaurus eumerus
Cryptosaurus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in the United Kingdom.
- When
- Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) · roughly 161.5 to 154.8 million years ago
- Named in
- 1875 · Seeley, H. G.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- Not established
- Weight
- Not established
- Found in
- the United Kingdom · Ampthill Clay
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Four legs
- Kind
- armored dinosaur · Ankylosaur
- Family branch
- Ankylosauria
The story in short
The genus Cryptosaurus dates to 1875, the year H. G. Seeley described it. The name means “hidden lizard.”
Fossils referred to Cryptosaurus date to the Late Jurassic (Oxfordian), roughly 161.5 to 154.8 million years ago. Finds come from the United Kingdom, including the Ampthill Clay Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.
The fossils of Cryptosaurus are too incomplete for a responsible length, hip height, or weight, so those fields are left blank on purpose.
On the family tree it sits in Ankylosauria, among the armored dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Acanthopholis
Acanthopholis horrida
Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) · roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago
Ahshislepelta
Ahshislepelta minor
Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Crichtonsaurus
Crichtonsaurus bohlini
Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian · Turonian) · roughly 100.5 to 89.8 million years ago