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armored dinosaur
Polacanthus
Say it like this: “pol-a-KAN-thus”
Polacanthus foxii
Polacanthus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in the United Kingdom.
- When
- Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago
- Named in
- 1866 · Fox, W.
- Hip height
- 1 m · 3 ft
- Length
- 4–5 m · 13–16 ft
- Weight
- 0.2–2 tonnes
- Found in
- the United Kingdom · Wessex
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Four legs
- Kind
- armored dinosaur · Ankylosaur
- Family branch
- Nodosauridae
The story in short
In 1866, W. Fox published the name Polacanthus. The name means “many thorns.”
Fossils referred to Polacanthus date to the Early Cretaceous (Barremian), roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago. Finds come from the United Kingdom, including the Wessex Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.
Published estimates put Polacanthus at a length near 4–5 m, hips about 1 m high, and a body mass around 0.2–2 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