Hesperosaurus

Say it like this: “hes-per-oh-sore-us”

Hesperosaurus mjosi

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

Quiz me on Hesperosaurus

When: Late Jurassic · Early Cretaceous (Oxfordian–Berriasian) · roughly 161.5 to 137.1 million years ago
Named in: 2001 · Carpenter, K.; Miles, C. A.; Cloward, K.
Hip height: 2.3 m · 8 ft
Length: 6.5 m · 21 ft
Weight: 3.5 tonnes
Found in: the United States · Morrison
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: plated dinosaur · Stegosaur
Family branch: Stegosaurinae

The story in short

Hesperosaurus was formally named in 2001 by K. Carpenter and colleagues.

It lived in the Late Jurassic · Early Cretaceous (Oxfordian–Berriasian), roughly 161.5 to 137.1 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Morrison Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Hesperosaurus at a length near 6.5 m, hips about 2.3 m high, and a body mass around 3.5 tonnes.

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

Close relatives

Jiangjunosaurus

Jiangjunosaurus junggarensis

Middle Jurassic · Late Jurassic (Callovian · Oxfordian) · roughly 165.3 to 154.8 million years ago

Loricatosaurus

Loricatosaurus priscus

Middle Jurassic (Callovian) · roughly 165.3 to 161.5 million years ago

Stegosaurus

Stegosaurus stenops

Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago