Nodocephalosaurus

Say it like this: “NOH-do-SEF-a-lo-SAWR-us”

Nodocephalosaurus kirtlandensis

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

Quiz me on Nodocephalosaurus

When: Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Named in: 1999 · Sullivan, R. M.
Hip height: 1 m · 3 ft
Length: 4.5 m · 15 ft
Weight: 1.5 tonnes
Found in: the United States · Kirtland
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: armored dinosaur · Ankylosaur
Family branch: Ankylosaurinae

The story in short

The genus Nodocephalosaurus dates to 1999, the year R. M. Sullivan described it. The name means “knob headed lizard.”

It lived in the Late Cretaceous (Campanian), roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Kirtland Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Nodocephalosaurus at a length near 4.5 m, hips about 1 m high, and a body mass around 1.5 tonnes.

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

Close relatives

Akainacephalus

Akainacephalus johnsoni

Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago

Ankylosaurus

Ankylosaurus magniventris

Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago

Anodontosaurus

Anodontosaurus lambei

Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian) · roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago