Niobrarasaurus

Say it like this: “nie-o-BRAHR-a-SAWR-us”

Niobrarasaurus coleii

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

Quiz me on Niobrarasaurus

When: Late Cretaceous (Coniacian · Santonian) · roughly 89.8 to 83.6 million years ago
Named in: 1995 · Carpenter, K.; Dilkes, D.; Weishampel, D. B.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 5–6.5 m · 16–21 ft
Weight: 0.2–4 tonnes
Found in: the United States · Niobrara Chalk
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: armored dinosaur · Ankylosaur
Family branch: Nodosauridae

The story in short

In 1995, K. Carpenter and colleagues published the name Niobrarasaurus. The name means “niobrara lizard.”

It lived in the Late Cretaceous (Coniacian · Santonian), roughly 89.8 to 83.6 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Niobrara Chalk Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Niobrarasaurus at a length near 5–6.5 m and a body mass around 0.2–4 tonnes.

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

Close relatives

Acantholipan

Acantholipan gonzalezi

Late Cretaceous (Santonian) · roughly 85.7 to 83.6 million years ago

Animantarx

Animantarx ramaljonesi

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) · roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago

Anoplosaurus

Anoplosaurus curtonotus

Early Cretaceous (Albian) · roughly 113.2 to 100.5 million years ago