Gargoyleosaurus Temporal range: Upper Jurassic
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Fossil skeleton of Gargoyleosaurus parkpinorum at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science | |
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Subfamily: | Polacanthinae?
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Genus: | Gargoyleosaurus
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Gargoyleosaurus ("gargoyle lizard") was an armoured ankylosaur which walked on four legs and had a stiff tail. It had a series of spikes running along each side of its body. Gargoyleosaurus was about 10 feet (3 m) long and was roughly 3.3 feet (1 m) tall to the top of the shoulder it may have weighed about a ton.
Gargoyleosaurus is found in the of the Morrison Formation (latest Upper Jurassic) in Wyoming. It lived about 155–144 million years ago.
This dinosaur had a long, narrow beak with teeth on both the upper and lower inner surface (most other ankylosaurs have teeth on only the lower beak). This plant-eater had protective body armour on the upper surface of its body and tail (hollow bony oval plates).