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plated dinosaur
Dacentrurus
Say it like this: “da-sen-TROOR-us”
Dacentrurus armatus
Dacentrurus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in the United Kingdom.
- When
- Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago
- Named in
- 1902 · Lucas, F. A.
- Hip height
- 1.8 m · 6 ft
- Length
- 8–9 m · 26–30 ft
- Weight
- 5–7.4 tonnes
- Found in
- the United Kingdom · Kimmeridge Clay
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Four legs
- Kind
- plated dinosaur · Stegosaur
- Family branch
- Dacentrurinae
The story in short
In 1902, F. A. Lucas published the name Dacentrurus. The name means “tail full of points.”
Fossils referred to Dacentrurus date to the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian), roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago. Finds come from the United Kingdom, including the Kimmeridge Clay Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.
Published estimates put Dacentrurus at a length near 8–9 m, hips about 1.8 m high, and a body mass around 5–7.4 tonnes.
On the family tree it sits in Dacentrurinae, among the plated dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Adratiklit
Adratiklit boulahfa
Middle Jurassic (Bathonian · Callovian) · roughly 168.2 to 161.5 million years ago
Miragaia
Miragaia longicollum
Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago
Thyreosaurus
Thyreosaurus atlasicus
Middle Jurassic (Bathonian · Callovian) · roughly 168.2 to 161.5 million years ago