Nodocephalosaurus

"knob headed lizard"

Generic ankylosaur body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Nodocephalosaurus 5 m (16.4 ft) long
as long as 3 people standing fingertip to fingertip
generic ankylosaur body plan, scaled to length — not a silhouette of Nodocephalosaurus
Length
5 m (16.4 ft)
Period
Late Cretaceous (73.49–72 Mya)
Place
North America · Mexico · Utah, USA · New Mexico, USA
Food
Herbivore
Clade
Ankylosauridae Dinosauria Ornithischia Thyreophora Ankylosauria Club-tailed armored herbivores.

Nodocephalosaurus (meaning “knob headed lizard”) is a monospecific genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur from New Mexico that lived during the Late Cretaceous (late Campanian to early Maastrichtian stage, 73.49 to 72 Ma) in what is now the De-na-zin member of the Kirtland Formation. The type and only species, Nodocephalosaurus kirtlandensis, is known only from a partial skull. It was named in 1999 by Robert M. Sullivan. Nodocephalosaurus has an estimated length of 4.5 metres (15 feet) and weight of 1.5 tonnes (3,306 lbs). It is closely related and shares similar cranial anatomy to Akainacephalus.

What we know

  • Named by Sullivan, 1999.
  • Fossils found in North America and Mexico.

What we guess

The reconstruction notes for Nodocephalosaurus — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.