Nodosaurus Characteristics

Nodosaurus measured 13 - 20 feet (4 - 6 metres) in length and weighed around 1 ton. It was a large bulky ornithischian (bird-hipped) dinosaur with bony dermal plates covering the top and sides of its body. It may also have had spikes along its sides. It had 4 short thick legs and 5 toes on each feet. Nodosaurus had a short neck, and a long, stiff tail that was clubless. Its head was narrow, with a beak and it had small teeth. It was a quadrupedal dinosaur and moved around on all 4 legs. Nodosaurus had a very small brain and moved around very slowly.

Nodosaurus was a herbivore and would have eaten huge amounts of plants. It ate low-lying plants, like ferns and cycads, with its leaf-shaped teeth.

It is thought that without a club on its tail, Nodosaurus was left without much in terms of defence. When threatened, it probably dropped to the ground so that only its armoured back and sides were exposed, protecting its softer underbelly from attack and wounding.

Fossils have been found in North America. Three incomplete specimens have been discovered in Wyoming and Kansas, and no skulls.

One of the first armoured dinosaurs to be discovered in North America,

Nodosaurus was named by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1889.