Nodosaurus

Nodosaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 100.5–97 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Historical restoration of a Nodosaurus textilis skeleton from 1921
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Dinosauria
Order:	†Ornithischia
Suborder:	†Ankylosauria
Family:	†Nodosauridae
Genus:	†Nodosaurus Marsh, 1889
Type species
†Nodosaurus textilis Marsh, 1889

Nodosaurus (meaning "knobbed lizard") was a genus of herbivorous ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous, the fossils of which are found in North America. One incomplete specimen has been discovered in the Frontier Formation of Wyoming. One of the first armored dinosaurs to be discovered in North America, Nodosaurus was named by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1889.

This nodosaurid ankylosaur was about 4 to 6 metres (13 to 20 ft) long. It was an ornithischian dinosaur with bony dermal plates covering the top of its body, and it may have had spikes along its side as well. The dermal plates were arranged in bands along its body, with narrow bands over the ribs alternating with wider plates in between. These wider plates were covered in regularly arranged bony nodules, which give the animal its scientific name.^[1] It had four short legs, five-toed feet, a short neck, and a long, stiff, clubless tail. The head was narrow, with a pointed snout, powerful jaws, and small teeth.^[1] It perhaps ate soft plants, as it would have been unable to chew tough, fibrous ones; or alternatively it may have processed the latter with gastroliths and its enormous intestinal apparatus.

It is thought that without a club on its tail, Nodosaurus would have been left without much in terms of active defenses. When threatened, it probably dropped to the ground so that only its armored back and sides were exposed, much like modern-day hedgehogs.

See also

• Timeline of ankylosaur research

References

• O. C. Marsh. 1889. Notice of gigantic horned Dinosauria from the Cretaceous. American Journal of Science 38:173-175

1. Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. pp. 158–159. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.