Polacanthus Polacanthus

"Etymology TBD"

You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Polacanthus 5 m (16.4 ft) long
3 people holding hands
Length
5 m (16.4 ft)
Period
Early Cretaceous (130–125 Mya)
Place
United Kingdom
Food
Herbivore
Clade
Nodosauridae Dinosauria Ornithischia Thyreophora Ankylosauria

Polacanthus (from the Ancient Greek polys-/πολύς- “many” and akantha/ἄκανθα “thorn” or “prickle”) is an extinct genus of ankylosaurian dinosaurs from the early Cretaceous (130–125 million years ago) of England. Several species have been named in the genus Polacanthus, but only the type species, Polacanthus foxii, is currently seen as valid. There are not many fossil remains of this dinosaur, and some important anatomical features, such as its skull, are poorly known. It grew to about 4-5 long. Its body was covered with armour plates and spikes. It may be a basal member of the Nodosauridae or part of a separate family, the Polacanthidae.

What we know

  • Named by Owen vide Anonymous, 1865.
  • Body length estimated at about 5 m.
  • Fossils found in United Kingdom.