Open Paleo

Nodosaurus

Marsh, 1889 NOHD-o-SAWR-us

From Latin nodus ('knob' or 'node') and Greek sauros ('lizard'), meaning 'knobbed lizard', in reference to the knobby armor on its body

100.5–93.9 million years ago Cenomanian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Nodosaurus is a genus of herbivorous nodosaurid ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous, the fossils of which were found in Albany County, Wyoming, in the Frontier Formation.

Diagnosis

  1. Dermal armor complete and closely covering sides, supported by specially strengthened ribs
  2. Dermal ossifications arranged in regular series of rounded knobs in rows
  3. Dermal ossicles near head quadrangular in form, with interwoven surface texture resembling coarse cloth
  4. Fore limbs massive and powerful, resembling Jurassic Stegosaurus with five well-developed digits
  5. Ribs T-shaped in transverse section, specially adapted to support armor
  6. Caudal vertebrae more elongate than Stegosaurus, with median groove on lower surface of centrum in middle caudals

Species

Nodosaurus textilis Marsh, 1889

Type species

From Latin 'textilis' meaning 'woven' or 'textile-like', referring to the textile-like appearance of the osteoderms on the animal's back.

Holotype
YPM VP 1815 , Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History
Material
Postcranial skeleton (skull unknown): pelvis with armored sacrum and ilia, partial dorsal vertebrae with ribs and overlying armor, thirteen caudal vertebrae, both femora (left complete), tibiae and a partial fibula, a nearly complete left hind foot, humeral and forearm fragments, fore-foot elements, and detached dermal armor.
Horizon
Belle Fourche Member, Frontier Formation, Cenomanian, Late Cretaceous , 100.5–93.9 million years ago
Locality
Como Bluff, Wyoming, United States

References

  1. Marsh, O. C. (1889). Notice of gigantic horned Dinosauria from the Cretaceous. American Journal of Science s3-38(224): 173-175. American Journal of Science (AJS). doi:10.2475/ajs.s3-38.224.173 marsh1889a
  2. Lull, R. S. (1921). The Cretaceous armored dinosaur, Nodosaurus textilis Marsh. American Journal of Science s5-1(2): 97-126. American Journal of Science (AJS). doi:10.2475/ajs.s5-1.2.97

    Detailed redescription of the holotype YPM 1815 after further preparation; re-defines Nodosaurus and interprets its dual-layer dermal armor.

    lull1921a
  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.; Kirkland, J. I. (1998). Review of Lower and Middle Cretaceous ankylosaurs from North America. Lower and Middle Cretaceous Terrestrial Ecosystems (Lucas, S. G.; Kirkland, J. I.; Estep, J. W., eds.) 14: 249-270.

    Determines the type horizon and locality from Reed's field letters, giving the Belle Fourche Member of the Frontier Formation.

    carpenter1998c