Dacentrurus
Dacentrurus armatus
Dacentrurus foi um estegossauro herbívoro do Jurássico, descrito por Richard Owen. Viveu há aproximadamente 154.0-150.0 milhões de anos, na região do que hoje é Europa. Medindo de 7.0-10.0 m, pesando 2.0-5.0 tons, era um representante característico da fauna mesozoica.
Dacentrurus (meaning "tail full of points") is an extinct genus of stegosaurian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic and perhaps Early Cretaceous (154–140 million years ago) of Europe. Its type species, D. armatus, was named in 1875 as Omosaurus armatus, based on a skeleton found in a clay pit in the Kimmeridge Clay in Swindon, England. In 1902 the genus was renamed Dacentrurus because the name Omosaurus had already been used for a phytosaur in 1856. After 1875, half a dozen other species would be named but perhaps only Dacentrurus armatus is valid.
Dacentrurus is among the largest known stegosaurs, measuring around 8–9 metres (26–30 ft) long and weighing up to 5–7.4 metric tons (5.5–8.2 short tons). Finds of this animal have been limited, so much of its appearance is uncertain and its relationship with other members of the Dacentrurinae are contentious. Some researchers suggest that Miragaia longicollum represents a junior synonym of this taxon.
- Família
- Stegosauridae
- Ordem
- Ornithischia
- Período
- Jurassic (154.0-150.0 MYA)
- Dieta
- Herbivore
- Comprimento
- 7.0-10.0 m
- Peso
- 2.0-5.0 tons
Fatos científicos
- Medindo 7.0-10.0 m, tinha porte médio para os padrões mesozoicos
- Herbívoro especializado do Jurássico, provavelmente pastava em vegetação de Europa
- Seus fósseis foram encontrados na região de Europa, contribuindo para o entendimento da fauna jurássico local
- Foi descrito cientificamente por Richard Owen, contribuindo para o entendimento da diversidade dinossauriana