Scutellosaurus
Scutellosaurus lawleri
Pronounced: skoo -
tell - o - Sore - us
Diet: Herbivore
(Plant-Eater)
Name Means: "Little
Shield Lizard"
Length: 4 Feet (1.2m)
Height: 1 Foot (30cm)
Weight: 22 pounds (10
kilos)
Time: Early Jurassic
- 195 MYA
Fossil remains for this Dinosaur have been found in Western North America
Scutellosaurus is the oldest known armored
dinosaur. It was a small dinosaur that looked like
some of the very first Triassic dinosaurs. It walked
on its hind legs, ate plants and had a long tail. It
is thought that Scutellosaurus was related to the
earlier Lesothosaurus
which it resembles very closely, apart from its
armored plates. In fact, this little dinosaur was
discovered with more than 300 little bony plates
along its back and neck. Most scientists think that
Scutellosaurus could have grown larger than those
that have been found to date.
As the first armored dinosaur yet
discovered, Scutellosaurus is probably the
ancestor of both ankylosaurs and stegosaurs.
There are many theories about this little
dinosaur. Some feel that the weight of its
bony plates would have created the need for
it to walk quadrapedally, thus paving the
way for its larger descendants. |
