Scelidosaurus facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Scelidosaurus Temporal range: Lower Jurassic 196.5–183 mya
Scelidosaurus cast of the David Sole specimen, in Utah.
Scientific classification

A drawing of Scelidosaurus

Scelidosaurus (say "skel-ee-doh-SAW-rus") was an early type of plant-eating dinosaur. It was a thyreophoran, which means it was a lightly armored dinosaur. This dinosaur was about 4 meters (13 feet) long. Scelidosaurus lived during the early Jurassic period, around 208 to 194 million years ago. Its fossils have been discovered in places like England, Ireland, and even in Arizona, United States.

Many scientists consider Scelidosaurus to be one of the most complete early dinosaur fossils ever found. Fossils of Scelidosaurus and its close relatives have been found on three different continents. It is also one of the first and most basic types of armored dinosaurs. Some scientists believe Scelidosaurus was a close relative to both the Stegosauria (like Stegosaurus) and Ankylosauria (like Ankylosaurus).

What Did Scelidosaurus Look Like?

A full-grown Scelidosaurus was not as big as some later dinosaurs. It was about 4 meters (13 feet) long. Scelidosaurus walked on four legs, which is called being quadrupedal. Its back legs were longer than its front legs.

Some scientists think it might have stood up on its back legs to reach leaves from trees. However, its front feet were almost as big as its back feet. This suggests that it mostly stayed on all fours.

What Did Scelidosaurus Eat?

Scelidosaurus and its relatives from the Jurassic period were all plant-eaters. Other dinosaurs that ate plants had teeth that could grind up tough plant material. But Scelidosaurus had smaller, simpler teeth. Its jaw could only move up and down.

This is similar to how stegosaurids ate. Stegosaurs also had simple teeth and jaws. Like stegosaurs, Scelidosaurus might have swallowed gastroliths, which are small stones. These stones would have helped to grind up food in its stomach, since it couldn't chew very well. Modern birds and crocodiles also do this.

Scelidosaurus likely ate low-lying plants, such as cycads. It probably also ate fruits. Some scientists even think it might have eaten Seaweeds. It's important to remember that Grass did not exist until the Cretaceous period, much later.

Images for kids

• 

  Skull cast of BRSMG LEGL 0004 with the snout and lower jaw restored

• 

  Thorax of the neotype.

• 

  Leg of S. harrisonii

• 

  Cast of a nearly complete skeleton found in 2000 by David Sole, showing fossilised bony scutes, Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre.

• 

  Restoration showing bipedal posture, as indicated by a fossil trackway

• 

  Lithograph of the partial neotype skull.

• 

  BMNH 39496, the first lectotype of Scelidosaurus, that proved to be a theropod, "Merosaurus", instead.

• 

  Restoration of the skeleton by O.C. Marsh, showing the long legs at the time presumed for Scelidosaurus

• 

  Philpot's specimen

• 

  Skeleton of a young specimen, Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery

• 

  Dorsal vertebrae.

• 

  Sacrum and iliac bone.

• 

  Close up of tooth, and left side of the neotype skull.

See also

In Spanish: Scelidosaurus harrisonii para niños