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armored dinosaur
Shamosaurus
Say it like this: “SHAH-maw-SAWR-us”
Shamosaurus scutatus
Shamosaurus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Mongolia.
- When
- Early Cretaceous (Aptian · Albian) · roughly 121.4 to 100.5 million years ago
- Named in
- 1983 · Tumanova, T. A.
- Hip height
- 1 m · 3 ft
- Length
- 5–7 m · 16–23 ft
- Weight
- 2 tonnes
- Found in
- Mongolia · Zuunbayan
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Four legs
- Kind
- armored dinosaur · Ankylosaur
- Family branch
- Shamosaurinae
The story in short
In 1983, T. A. Tumanova published the name Shamosaurus. The name means “gobi desert lizard.”
It lived in the Early Cretaceous (Aptian · Albian), roughly 121.4 to 100.5 million years ago. Finds come from Mongolia, including the Zuunbayan Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.
Published estimates put Shamosaurus at a length near 5–7 m, hips about 1 m high, and a body mass around 2 tonnes.
On the family tree it sits in Shamosaurinae, among the armored dinosaurs.