Dino card No. 0819 of 2,027

Hoplitosaurus

Say it: hop-lit-oh-SORE-us

Name means: “hoplite lizard, named after a Greek soldier”1

Ate: PlantsArmoured dinosEarly Cretaceous

Hoplitosaurus was a slow, plant-eating dinosaur covered in bony armor and tall spines. It used its armor to protect itself from predators, like a tank with spikes!1

Lived

126 to 113 million years ago3

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

South Dakota, USA1 2

Food

Plants1

Height

1.2 m1

at the hips

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Hoplitosaurus was about 1.2 metres (4 feet) tall at the hips, about the height of a small pony.1

Its armor included tall spines on the shoulders and back, and small bony plates called ossicles filled the gaps.1

Unlike its relative Polacanthus, Hoplitosaurus did not have a solid shield of bone over its hips.1

The only known fossil was found in 1898 by geologist Nelson Horatio Darton near Buffalo Gap, South Dakota.1 2

At first, scientists thought it was a type of Stegosaurus, but later they gave it its own name.1

Hoplitosaurus lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 130 million years ago.1

AI-made picture of Hoplitosaurus — An AI-made picture of how Hoplitosaurus 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 Hoplitosaurus

?How big was Hoplitosaurus?

It was about 1.2 metres (4 feet) tall at the hips, roughly the height of a small pony. Its total length is not known from the partial skeleton.1

?What did Hoplitosaurus eat?

It was a plant-eater (herbivore) that ate low-growing plants. Its armor was its main defense against predators.1

?Where was Hoplitosaurus found?

The only known fossil was found in 1898 near Buffalo Gap, South Dakota, in the Lakota Formation. It lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 130 million years ago.1 2

?Is Hoplitosaurus a dinosaur?

Yes, it is a dinosaur. It is an armored dinosaur (ankylosaur) related to Polacanthus.1 3

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Myth buster

Myth: Hoplitosaurus is just a copy of Polacanthus.

Truth: Scientists now agree Hoplitosaurus is a valid, though poorly known, genus because its bones and armor are different from Polacanthus.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Hoplitosaurus
Named by: Lucas 19023
Group: Armoured dinos
Family / clade: Nodosauridae3
Classification: Ornithischia > Ankylosauria > Nodosauridae > Thyreophora3
Age of the rocks: 126 to 113 million years (Barremian / Aptian)3
Rock formations: Lakota, Cedar Mountain3
Countries: USA3
Fossil records: 2 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: The fossil was found in 1898 by Nelson Horatio Darton. Frederic Augustus Lucas first named it a new species of Stegosaurus in 1901, but soon gave it its own genus Hoplitosaurus in 1902.1 3
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how Hoplitosaurus is related to other armored dinosaurs, because its fossils are so incomplete.1

Where the facts come from

Hoplitosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
si.edu (si.edu)
Hoplitosaurus 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.

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