Open Paleo

Gargoyleosaurus

Carpenter et al., 1998 gahr-GOI-lo-SAWR-us

Gargoyle lizard; named for its gargoyle-like appearance, combined with Greek sauros (lizard)

154.8–143.1 million years ago Kimmeridgian–Tithonian, Late Jurassic
Late Jurassic stages

Gargoyleosaurus is one of the earliest ankylosaurs known from reasonably complete fossil remains. The holotype was discovered in 1995 at the Bone Cabin Quarry West locality, in Albany County, Wyoming in exposures of the Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian stages) Morrison Formation.

Diagnosis

  1. Postorbital horns very large, slightly overlapping the squamosal.
  2. Eight premaxillary alveoli, with transverse ridges dorsally along the front of the premaxilla.
  3. Maxillary tooth row elongated; cranial texturing irregular in size but forming a loose pattern.
  4. Mandible long and relatively gracile, with a retroarticular process long compared to other ankylosaurs.
  5. Narrow slit between the proatlas facets; vertebral centra elongated and anterior caudal ribs projecting laterally, where those of Mymoorapelta project ventrolaterally.
  6. First cervical armor ring of four partially fused plates plus a central osteoderm; second ring of four elongated partially fused plates.

Species

Gargoyleosaurus parkpinorum Carpenter et al., 1998

Type species

Named for J. Parker and T. Pinegar, who discovered the holotype; originally published as "parkpini" and later renamed "parkpinorum" in accordance with ICZN article 31.1.2A.

Holotype
DMNH 27726 , Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Material
Nearly complete skull, proatlas, first three cervicals, six caudals, fragmentary ribs, partial scapula and coracoid, humerus, femur, pubis, ossified tendons, and armor including cervical rings.
Horizon
upper Morrison Formation, Kimmeridgian–Tithonian, Late Jurassic , 154.8–143.1 million years ago
Locality
Bone Cabin Quarry West, Wyoming, United States

Synonyms

  • Gargoyleosaurus parkpini emended spelling

    The original spelling of Carpenter and colleagues (1998); Carpenter (2001) amended it to parkpinorum, as the name honors two people.

References

  1. Carpenter, K.; Miles, C.; Cloward, K. (1998). Skull of a Jurassic ankylosaur (Dinosauria). Nature 393(6687): 782-783. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/31684 carpenter1998a
  2. Carpenter, K. (2001). Phylogenetic analysis of the Ankylosauria. The Armored Dinosaurs 455-483. Indiana University Press, Bloomington.

    Amends the epithet from parkpini to parkpinorum.

    carpenter2001d
  3. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Ornithischians. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the hip height estimate, and the appearance features.

    jones2026a
  4. Carpenter, K.; DiCroce, T.; Kinneer, B.; Simon, R. (2013). Pelvis of Gargoyleosaurus (Dinosauria: Ankylosauria) and the origin and evolution of the ankylosaur pelvis. PLOS ONE 8(11): e79887. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0079887

    Gives the holotype's site as Bone Cabin Quarry West, narrower than the Bone Cabin Quarry of the original description.

    carpenter2013a
  5. Kilbourne, B.; Carpenter, K. (2005). Redescription of Gargoyleosaurus parkpinorum, a polacanthid ankylosaur from the Upper Jurassic of Albany County, Wyoming. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen 237(1): 111-160. Schweizerbart. doi:10.1127/njgpa/235/2005/111

    Emended diagnosis and first full description of the postcranium and armor; reports eight premaxillary alveoli and a secondary palate, and estimates a body length of 3 to 3.5 m.

    kilbourne2005a