Dino card No. 0555 of 2,027

Dyoplosaurus

Say it: dye-oh-ploh-SORE-us

Name means: “double-armoured lizard”1

Ate: PlantsArmoured dinosLate Cretaceous

Dyoplosaurus was a tank-like dinosaur covered in bony plates and spikes. It had a heavy club at the end of its tail that it could swing at attackers. This dinosaur lived in what is now Alberta, Canada, about 76 million years ago.1

Lived

84 to 72 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Alberta, Canada1

Food

Plants3

Length

4 to 4.5 m1

Weight

1.2 tonnes1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 2.5 bicycles in a rowas long as 25 bananas end to endas heavy as 40 big dogsas heavy as 240 watermelons

How big was Dyoplosaurus compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Dyoplosaurus means 'double-armoured lizard' because of its two layers of bony plates and spikes.1

Its tail club was smaller than those of other ankylosaurids, so scientists think it might not have been strong enough to break bones.1

Fossilized skin impressions show that Dyoplosaurus had a mosaic of small, bony bumps on its body.1

Dyoplosaurus lived alongside other dinosaurs like the horned Chasmosaurus, the duck-billed Corythosaurus, and the predator Gorgosaurus.1

The first Dyoplosaurus fossil was found in 1919 by Levi Sternberg near the Red Deer River in Alberta, Canada.1

For a long time, scientists thought Dyoplosaurus was the same as Euoplocephalus, but newer studies show it is its own unique dinosaur.1

AI-made picture of Dyoplosaurus — An AI-made picture of how Dyoplosaurus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Dyoplosaurus

?How big was Dyoplosaurus?

Dyoplosaurus was about 4 to 4.5 metres long and weighed around 1.2 metric tons.1

?What did Dyoplosaurus eat?

Dyoplosaurus was a plant-eater. It had a beak-like mouth for cropping vegetation.2

?Could Dyoplosaurus break bones with its tail club?

Probably not. Its tail club was smaller than those of other ankylosaurids, and a 2009 study found it could not generate enough force to puncture bone.1

?When did Dyoplosaurus live?

Dyoplosaurus lived during the Late Cretaceous period, about 76.5 to 75 million years ago.1

Ask Rex about Dyoplosaurus

Rex only answers questions about this page. 3 questions a day.

Rex is an AI and can make mistakes. He runs on servers in the EU and questions are never saved. Never type your name or other personal things.

Myth buster

Myth: Some people think Dyoplosaurus was just a young Euoplocephalus.

Truth: Scientists now agree that Dyoplosaurus is a separate genus with distinct features, like its triangular toe claws and tail club that is longer than wide.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Dyoplosaurus
Named by: Parks 19243
Group: Armoured dinos
Family / clade: Ankylosauridae3
Classification: Ornithischia > Ankylosauria > Ankylosauridae > Thyreophora3
Age of the rocks: 84 to 72 million years (Campanian)3
Rock formations: Dinosaur Park3
Countries: Canada3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Dyoplosaurus was named by William Parks in 1924 based on a partial skeleton found in Alberta, Canada. The name means 'double-armoured lizard'.1
Still debated: Scientists still debate exactly how Dyoplosaurus used its tail club. Some think it was for defense, but the club might have been too small to be effective.1

Where the facts come from

Dyoplosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Dyoplosaurus | Double-Armoured Dinosaur of the Late Cretaceous (thedinosaurs.org)
Dyoplosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

Rex is hungry! Dino Wiki is a dad's project for his dino-loving son, free with no ads. Grown-ups can feed Rex a snack to help keep it online.Feed Rex