Nodosauridae is a family of ankylosaurian

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

s, from the

Late Jurassic The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987. In European lithostratigraphy, the ...

to the

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...

period in what is now North America,

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

Description

Nodosaurids, like their close relatives the

ankylosaurids Ankylosauridae () is a family of armored dinosaurs within Ankylosauria, and is the sister group to Nodosauridae. The oldest known Ankylosaurids date to around 122 million years ago and went extinct 66 million years ago during the Cretaceous–Pal ...

, were heavily armored dinosaurs adorned with rows of bony armor nodules and spines (osteoderms), which were covered in keratin sheaths. All nodosaurids, like other ankylosaurians, were medium-sized to large, heavily built,

quadruped Quadrupedalism is a form of locomotion where four limbs are used to bear weight and move around. An animal or machine that usually maintains a four-legged posture and moves using all four limbs is said to be a quadruped (from Latin ''quattuo ...

al,

herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

s, possessing small, leaf-shaped teeth. Unlike ankylosaurids, nodosaurids lacked mace-like tail clubs, instead having flexible tail tips. Many nodosaurids had spikes projecting outward from their shoulders. One particularly well-preserved nodosaurid "mummy", known as the Suncor nodosaur (''Borealopelta markmitchelli''), preserved a nearly complete set of armor in life position, as well as the keratin covering and mineralized remains of the underlying skin, which indicate reddish dorsal pigments in a countershading pattern.

Classification

The

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Nodosauridae was erected by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1890, and anchored on the genus '' Nodosaurus''. The clade Nodosauridae was first informally defined by

Paul Sereno Paul Callistus Sereno (born October 11, 1957) is a professor of paleontology at the University of Chicago and a National Geographic "explorer-in-residence" who has discovered several new dinosaur species on several continents, including at sites ...

in 1998 as "all ankylosaurs closer to ''Panoplosaurus'' than to '' Ankylosaurus''," a definition followed by Vickaryous,

Teresa Maryańska Teresa Maryańska (1937 – 3 October 2019) was a Polish paleontologist who specialized in Mongolian dinosaurs, particularly pachycephalosaurians and ankylosaurians. Peter Dodson (1998 p. 9) states that in 1974 Maryanska together with Hal ...

, and Weishampel in 2004. Vickaryous ''et al.'' considered two

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial ...

of nodosaurids to be of uncertain placement (''incertae sedis''): ''Struthiosaurus'' and ''Animantarx'', and considered the most primitive member of the Nodosauridae to be ''Cedarpelta''.Vickaryous, M. K., Maryanska, T., and Weishampel, D. B. (2004). Chapter Seventeen: Ankylosauria. in The Dinosauria (2nd edition), Weishampel, D. B., Dodson, P., and Osmólska, H., editors. University of California Press. Following the publication of the PhyloCode, Nodosauridae needed to be formally defined following certain parameters, including that the type genus '' Nodosaurus'' was required as an internal specifier. In formally naming Nodosauridae, Madzia and colleagues followed the previously established use for the clade, defining it as the largest clade including ''

Nodosaurus textilis ''Nodosaurus'' (meaning "knobbed lizard") is a genus of herbivorous nodosaurid ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous, the fossils of which are found exclusively in the Frontier Formation in Wyoming. Description ''Nodosaurus'' grew ...

'' but not '' Ankylosaurus magniventris''. As all phylogenies referenced included both ''Panoplosaurus'' and ''Nodosaurus'' within the same group relative to ''Ankylosaurus'', the addition of another internal specifier was deemed unnecessary. The 2018 phylogenetic analysis of Rivera-Sylva and colleagues was used as the primary reference for Panoplosaurini by Madzia ''et al.'', in addition to the supplemental analyses of Thompson ''et al.'' (2012), Arbour and Currie (2016), Arbour ''et al.'' (2016), and Brown ''et al.'' (2017). The highly isolated ''

Antarctopelta ''Antarctopelta'' ( ; meaning 'Antarctic shield') was a genus of ankylosaurian dinosaur with one known species, ''A. oliveroi'', which lived in Antarctica during the Late Cretaceous Period. It was a medium-sized ankylosaur, reaching 4 meter ...

'', from the late Cretaceous of

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest co ...

, was previously thought to be the most basal nodosaurid, but a 2021 study found it to belong to the Parankylosauria, a separate basal lineage of ankylosaurs restricted to the Southern Hemisphere. However, the 2022 description of '' Patagopelta'', a nodosaurine from

, suggests that true nodosaurids also inhabited Gondwana, having colonized

during a biotic interchange from North America during the

Campanian The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous Epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous Series. Campani ...

Biogeography

The near simultaneous appearance of nodosaurids in both North America and Europe is worthy of consideration. '' Europelta'' is the oldest nodosaurid from Europe, it is derived from the lower

Albian The Albian is both an age of the geologic timescale and a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest or uppermost subdivision of the Early/Lower Cretaceous Epoch/ Series. Its approximate time range is 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma to 100.5 ± ...

Escucha Formation The Escucha Formation is a geological formation in La Rioja and Teruel provinces of northeastern Spain whose strata date back to the late Aptian to middle Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have bee ...

. The oldest western North American nodosaurid is ''

Sauropelta ''Sauropelta'' ( ; meaning 'lizard shield') is a genus of nodosaurid dinosaur that existed in the Early Cretaceous Period of North America. One species (''S. edwardsorum'') has been named although others may have existed. Anatomically, ''Saurope ...

'', from the lower

Little Sheep Mudstone Member of the Cloverly Formation, at an age of 108.5±0.2 million years. Eastern North American fossils seem older. Teeth of '' Priconodon crassus'' from the Arundel Clay of the Potomac Group of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

, which dates near the Aptian–Albian boundary. The ''

Propanoplosaurus ''Propanoplosaurus'' is a genus of herbivorous nodosaurid dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Patuxent Formation of Maryland, USA. Its type specimen is a natural cast and partial natural mold of a hatchling. Discovery and Naming From 1994 ...

'' hatchling from the base of the underlying Patuxent Formation, dating to the upper

Aptian The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous Epoch or Series and encompasses the time from 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma to 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma (million years ag ...

, is the oldest known nodosaurid. ImageSize = width:1250px height:auto barincrement:15px PlotArea = left:10px bottom:50px top:10px right:10px Period = from:-199.6 till:-23.03 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:-190 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:-199.6 TimeAxis = orientation:hor AlignBars = justify Colors = #legends id:triassic value:rgb(0.51,0.17,0.57) id:jurassic value:rgb(0.2,0.7,0.79) id:earlyjurassic value:rgb(0,0.69,0.89) id:middlejurassic value:rgb(0.52,0.81,0.91) id:latejurassic value:rgb(0.74,0.89,0.97) id:cretaceous value:rgb(0.5,0.78,0.31) id:earlycretaceous value:rgb(0.63,0.78,0.65) id:latecretaceous value:rgb(0.74,0.82,0.37) id:paleogene value:rgb(0.99,0.6,0.32) id:paleocene value:rgb(0.99,0.65,0.37) id:eocene value:rgb(0.99,0.71,0.42) id:oligocene value:rgb(0.99,0.75,0.48) BarData= bar:eratop bar:space bar:periodtop bar:space bar:NAM1 bar:NAM2 bar:NAM3 bar:NAM4 bar:NAM5 bar:NAM6 bar:NAM7 bar:NAM8 bar:NAM9 bar:NAM10 bar:NAM11 bar:NAM12 bar:NAM13 bar:NAM14 bar:NAM15 bar:NAM16 bar:NAM17 bar:NAM18 bar:NAM19 bar:NAM20 bar:NAM21 bar:NAM22 bar:NAM23 bar:space bar:period bar:space bar:era PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 shift:(7,-4) bar:eratop from: -199.6 till: -145.5 color:jurassic text:

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

from: -145.5 till: -66.0 color:cretaceous text:

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

from: -66.0 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:

Paleogene The Paleogene ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of ...

bar:periodtop from: -199.6 till: -175.6 color:earlyjurassic text:

Early Early may refer to: History * The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.: ** Early Christianity ** Early modern Europe Places in the United States * Early, Iowa * Early, Texas * Early ...

from: -175.6 till: -161.2 color:middlejurassic text:

Middle Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek (d ...

from: -161.2 till: -145.5 color:latejurassic text: Late from: -145.5 till: -99.6 color:earlycretaceous text:

from: -99.6 till: -66.0 color:latecretaceous text: Late from: -66.0 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text: Paleo. from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text: Eo. from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text: Oligo. PlotData= align:left fontsize:M mark:(line,white) width:5 anchor:till align:left color:triassic bar:NAM1 from:-166 till:-164 text: Sarcolestes? color:triassic bar:NAM2 from:-157 till:-153 text: Gargoyleosaurus color:triassic bar:NAM3 from:-157 till:-145 text:

Mymoorapelta ''Mymoorapelta'' (Meaning "Vannetta Moore and Pete and Marilyn Mygatt's shield" after a combination of the names of the discoverers of the Mygatt-Moore Quarry that fossils were originally collected from, and pɛltə "shield") is a monospecific ...

? color:triassic bar:NAM4 from:-145 till:-100 text:

Taohelong ''Taohelong'' is a genus of nodosaurid dinosaur known from Lower Cretaceous rocks in north-central China. ''Taohelong'' is based on Gansu Dinosaur Museum (GSDM) 00021, fossils including a tail vertebra, ribs, a left ilium (the main bone of th ...

color:triassic bar:NAM5 from:-137 till:-134 text: Hylaeosaurus? color:triassic bar:NAM6 from:-131 till:-126 text: Polacanthus color:triassic bar:NAM7 from:-131 till:-113 text: Sauroplites color:triassic bar:NAM1 from:-128 till:-126 text: Gastonia color:triassic bar:NAM2 from:-128 till:-126 text:

Horshamosaurus ''Horshamosaurus'' is a genus of herbivorous ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of England. It lived during the Barremian of the Cretaceous and the type species is ''Horshamosaurus rudgwickensis''. Discovery In 1985, at the ...

color:triassic bar:NAM3 from:-128 till:-126 text: Hoplitosaurus color:triassic bar:NAM1 from:-113 till:-94 text: Dongyangopelta color:triassic bar:NAM2 from:-105 till:-100 text: Anoplosaurus color:triassic bar:NAM3 from:-97 till:-95 text: Acanthopholis color:jurassic bar:NAM8 from:-118 till:-108 text:

color:jurassic bar:NAM9 from:-118 till:-108 text:

Tatankacephalus ''Tatankacephalus'' is a basal genus of nodosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous. Its length has been estimated at 7 meters (23 ft). Its fossil has been collected from the Cloverly Formation (Aptian-Albian) of central Mon ...

color:jurassic bar:NAM10 from:-116 till:-113 text:

color:jurassic bar:NAM11 from:-113 till:-108 text: Priconodon color:jurassic bar:NAM12 from:-113 till:-100 text:

Silvisaurus ''Silvisaurus'', from the Latin silva "woodland" and Greek sauros "lizard", is a nodosaurid ankylosaur from the Early to Late Cretaceous period. Discovery and species A fossil of the species was discovered in the fifties by rancher Warren ...

color:jurassic bar:NAM13 from:-112 till:-107 text: Borealopelta color:jurassic bar:NAM14 from:-100 till:-94 text:

Zhejiangosaurus ''Zhejiangosaurus'' (meaning "Zhejiang lizard") is an extinct genus of ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian stage) of Zhejiang, eastern China. It was first named by a group of Chinese authors Lü Junchang, Jin Xingsheng, S ...

? color:jurassic bar:NAM15 from:-100 till:-94 text: Nodosaurus color:jurassic bar:NAM16 from:-99 till:-96 text: Peloroplites color:jurassic bar:NAM8 from:-86 till:-84 text: Acantholipan color:jurassic bar:NAM9 from:-86 till:-84 text: Niobrarasaurus color:jurassic bar:NAM10 from:-84 till:-75 text: Danubiosaurus? color:jurassic bar:NAM11 from:-84 till:-75 text: Rhadinosaurus? color:jurassic bar:NAM12 from:-81 till:-79 text: Invictarx color:jurassic bar:NAM13 from:-75 till:-74 text: Ahshislepelta? color:jurassic bar:NAM14 from:-72 till:-70 text: Glyptodontopelta color:cretaceous bar:NAM17 from:-113 till:-108 text: Europelta color:cretaceous bar:NAM18 from:-103 till:-100 text:

Pawpawsaurus ''Pawpawsaurus'', meaning "Pawpaw Lizard", is a nodosaurid ankylosaur from the Cretaceous (late Albian) of Tarrant County, Texas, discovered in May 1992. The only species yet assigned to this taxon, ''Pawpawsaurus campbelli,'' is based on a ...

color:cretaceous bar:NAM19 from:-97 till:-95 text: Stegopelta color:cretaceous bar:NAM17 from:-86 till:-84 text: Hungarosaurus color:cretaceous bar:NAM18 from:-84 till:-66 text:

Struthiosaurus ''Struthiosaurus'' (Latin ''struthio'' = ostrich + Greek ''sauros'' = lizard) is a genus of nodosaurid dinosaurs, from the Late Cretaceous period (Santonian-Maastrichtian) of Austria, Romania, France and Hungary in Europe.

color:paleogene bar:NAM20 from:-103 till:-100 text: Texasetes color:paleogene bar:NAM21 from:-99 till:-96 text: Animantarx color:paleogene bar:NAM20 from:-84 till:-68 text:Argentinian taxon color:paleogene bar:NAM21 from:-77 till:-72 text: Edmontonia color:paleogene bar:NAM22 from:-76 till:-75 text: Panoplosaurus color:paleogene bar:NAM23 from:-68 till:-66 text: Denversaurus PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 bar:period from: -199.6 till: -175.6 color:earlyjurassic text:

from: -175.6 till: -161.2 color:middlejurassic text:

from: -161.2 till: -145.5 color:latejurassic text: Late from: -145.5 till: -99.6 color:earlycretaceous text:

from: -145.5 till: -66.0 color:cretaceous text:

from: -66.0 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:

References

External links

Alberta oilsands discovery of 2011
{{Taxonbar, from=Q134193 Kimmeridgian first appearances Maastrichtian extinctions Taxa named by Othniel Charles Marsh Prehistoric dinosaur families

Description

Classification

Biogeography

See also

References

Further reading

External links