Nodosaurus

Say it like this: “NOHD-o-SAWR-us”

Nodosaurus textilis

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

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When: Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) · roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago
Named in: 1889 · Marsh, O. C.
Hip height: 1.2 m · 4 ft
Length: 6 m · 20 ft
Weight: 3.5 tonnes
Found in: the United States · Frontier
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: armored dinosaur · Ankylosaur
Family branch: Nodosauridae

The story in short

In 1889, O. C. Marsh published the name Nodosaurus. The name means “knobbed lizard.”

It lived in the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian), roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Frontier Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Nodosaurus at a length near 6 m, hips about 1.2 m high, and a body mass around 3.5 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