Paranthodon

Say it like this: “puh-RAN-thuh-don”

Paranthodon africanus

Paranthodon ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in South Africa.

Quiz me on Paranthodon

When: Early Cretaceous (Berriasian · Valanginian) · roughly 143.1 to 132.6 million years ago
Named in: 1929 · Nopcsa, B. F.
Hip height: 2 m · 7 ft
Length: 5 m · 16 ft
Weight: 454–907 kg · 1,001–2,000 lb
Found in: South Africa · Kirkwood
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: plated dinosaur · Stegosaur
Family branch: Stegosauridae

The story in short

In 1929, B. F. Nopcsa published the name Paranthodon. The name means “near Anthodon.”

Fossils referred to Paranthodon date to the Early Cretaceous (Berriasian · Valanginian), roughly 143.1 to 132.6 million years ago. Finds come from South Africa, including the Kirkwood Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Paranthodon at a length near 5 m, hips about 2 m high, and a body mass around 454–907 kg.

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

Close relatives

Alcovasaurus

Alcovasaurus longispinus

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

Kentrosaurus

Kentrosaurus aethiopicus

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

Tuojiangosaurus

Tuojiangosaurus multispinus

Middle Jurassic · Late Jurassic (Bajocian–Oxfordian) · roughly 170.9 to 154.8 million years ago