Dino card No. 1276 of 2,027

Niobrarasaurus

Say it: nye-oh-BRAHR-uh-SORE-us

Name means: “Niobrara lizard”1

Ate: PlantsArmoured dinosLate Cretaceous

Niobrarasaurus was a slow-moving, plant-eating dinosaur covered in bony armor like a tank. It lived near an ancient sea in what is now Kansas, USA, about 87 to 82 million years ago.1

Lived

90 to 84 million years ago5

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Gove County, Kansas, USA, in the Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Formation1

Food

Plants5

Length

5 to 6.5 m1

estimates vary; one scientist says 5 m, another says 6.5 m

Weight

227 kg to 4 tonnes1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 4 bicycles in a rowas long as 36 bananas end to endas heavy as 2.5 carsas heavy as 130 big dogsas heavy as 800 watermelons

How big was Niobrarasaurus compared to YOU?

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

cool stuff

Fun facts

Niobrarasaurus lived in a shallow sea called the Western Interior Seaway. Its body sometimes washed out to sea after death, and sharks may have nibbled on its bones.2

Its skeleton was discovered in 1930 by geologist Virgil Cole. At first, scientists thought it was a baby because it was small.1

The first fossils of this dinosaur were mistaken for turtle shell pieces. Later, experts realized they belonged to an armored dinosaur.1

Niobrarasaurus had a long, narrow skull, more like the dinosaur Pawpawsaurus than the wider-headed Edmontonia.3

It was a nodosaurid, a type of ankylosaur that had spikes on its shoulders and bony plates on its back, but no tail club.1

The name Niobrarasaurus means 'Niobrara lizard,' after the rock formation where its bones were found.1

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

?How big was Niobrarasaurus?

Scientists estimate it was about 5 metres (16 ft) long and weighed between 227 and 453 kilograms (500 to 999 lb). One expert gave a larger estimate of 6.5 metres (21 ft) and 4 tonnes (4.4 short tons).1

?What did Niobrarasaurus eat?

It was a plant-eating dinosaur. It had teeth and a beak for eating plants.1 4

?Did Niobrarasaurus have a tail club?

No, it did not. Niobrarasaurus was a nodosaurid, a type of armored dinosaur that had spikes on its shoulders and bony plates on its back, but no tail club.1

?Where was Niobrarasaurus found?

Its fossils were found in the Niobrara chalk beds of western Kansas, USA, in Gove County. The bones were discovered in rocks that were once part of a Cretaceous sea.1 4

Ask Rex about Niobrarasaurus

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.

For dino experts

Scientific name: Niobrarasaurus
Named by: Carpenter et al. 19955
Group: Armoured dinos
Family / clade: Nodosauridae5
Classification: Ornithischia > Ankylosauria > Nodosauridae > Thyreophora5
Age of the rocks: 90 to 84 million years (Coniacian / Santonian)5
Rock formations: Niobrara5
Countries: USA5
Fossil records: 2 in the Paleobiology Database5
Discovery: Virgil Cole dug up the first bones in 1930 in Kansas. Maurice Mehl named it Hierosaurus coleii in 1936, and Kenneth Carpenter gave it the new name Niobrarasaurus in 1995.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how big Niobrarasaurus was. Different experts give very different estimates, from about 5 metres to 6.5 metres long.1

Where the facts come from

Niobrarasaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
The Dinosaurs of the Niobrara Chalk Formation (Upper Cretaceous, Kansas) (researchgate.net)
Skull of the ankylosaur Niobrarasaurus coleu (Ankylosauria: Nodosauridae) from the Smoky Hill Chalk (Coniacian) of western Kansas (bioone.org)
Niobrarasaurus | GeoKansas (geokansas.ku.edu)
Niobrarasaurus 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