Dacentrurus

Dacentrurus armatus · Dacentrurus was a large, spiky plant-eating stegosaur dinosaur that lived in Europe about 154–140 million years ago.

It lived about 154 to 140 million years ago.

Dacentrurus
Photo: Connor Ashbridge, CC BY-SA 4.0
Dacentrurus
Photo: TotalDino, CC BY-SA 4.0
Dacentrurus
Photo: Ornitholestes, Public domain

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassReptilia
OrderOrnithischia
FamilyStegosauridae
GenusDacentrurus
SpeciesDacentrurus armatus

Where its fossils were found

Western Europe: England, France, Spain and Portugal.

Fun facts

  • Its name means "tail full of points", a nod to the many spikes on its tail.
  • Dacentrurus was one of the biggest stegosaurs, reaching about 8–9 metres long and weighing up to 7.4 metric tons.
  • Its fossil skeleton was found inside a huge clay lump that crumbled when people tried to lift it, and the pieces went to London in crates weighing three tonnes.
  • A 125-millimetre-long egg from Portugal has been linked to Dacentrurus, the first egg connected to any stegosaur.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).