Dino card No. 1281 of 2,027

Nodosaurus

Say it: no-doh-SORE-us

Name means: “node lizard”1

Ate: PlantsArmoured dinosLate Cretaceous

Nodosaurus was an armoured dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous Period. It had a small head, a tiny brain, and a long tail, but its back was covered in thick bony plates and knobs for protection.2

Lived

100 to 66 million years ago4

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

USA (Wyoming) and Canada (Alberta)4

Food

Plants4 1

Length

5 to 5.5 m1 2

estimates vary

Weight

3.5 tonnes3

estimate

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 2.5 cars

as long as 6 dogs nose to tailas long as 31 bananas end to endas heavy as 120 big dogsas heavy as 700 watermelons

How big was Nodosaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Nodosaurus had a very small head and a tiny brain compared to its body.2

Its back was covered in thick bony plates and knobs that acted like armour against predators.2

The front legs of Nodosaurus were much smaller than its hind legs, and its back was strongly arched.2

Nodosaurus lived between 110 and 90 million years ago, during the Early to Late Cretaceous.1 2

It was a ground-dwelling herbivore, meaning it walked on land and ate plants.4

Nodosaurus is a type of ankylosaur, a group of armoured dinosaurs that also includes Ankylosaurus.1

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

?How big was Nodosaurus?

It grew to about 4 to 6 metres (13 to 20 feet) long and weighed around 3.5 tonnes (3.85 short tons).3 2 1

?What did Nodosaurus eat?

It was an herbivore that likely ate soft plants. It might have also swallowed stones (gastroliths) to help digest tough plants.3 1

?Did Nodosaurus have a club on its tail?

No, it had a long, stiff tail without a club.3

?When did Nodosaurus live?

It lived during the Late Cretaceous Period, about 110 to 90 million years ago.1 3 2

?How fast could Nodosaurus run?

Scientists do not know for sure, but its short legs and heavy armour suggest it was a slow-moving dinosaur.3 2

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Nodosaurus
Named by: Marsh 18894
Group: Armoured dinos
Family / clade: Nodosauridae4
Classification: Ornithischia > Ankylosauria > Nodosauridae > Thyreophora4
Age of the rocks: 100 to 66 million years (Cenomanian / Maastrichtian)4
Rock formations: Dinosaur Park, Frontier, Lance4
Countries: USA, Canada4
Fossil records: 3 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Nodosaurus was named by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1889. The type species is Nodosaurus textilis.4 1

Where the facts come from

Nodosaurus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
Nodosaurus | armored, herbivorous, Late Cretaceous | Britannica (britannica.com)
Nodosaurus - Wikipedia (en.m.wikipedia.org)
Nodosaurus 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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