10 Pebbly Facts About Scelidosaurus

Scelidosaurus’ appeal is two-fold. Back in the 19th century, its discovery helped us understand just how strange dinosaurs really were. And, to boot, the primitive critter offers some much-needed perspective on an underexplored chapter in dinosaurian evolution. So what’s not to like?

1. It Was an Early Forerunner of Heavily-Armed Herbivores like Stegosaurus and Ankylosaurus.

Wanna be a paleontologist? One of the toughest parts of the gig is untangling an extinct animal’s family tree. Scelidosaurus, which evolved around 190 million years ago, is clearly a primitive thyreophoran, or armored dinosaur. At some point, this group split into two major branches: the tank-like ankylosaurs and the spiky-tailed stegosaurs. Scientists differ on exactly where Scelidosaurus fits within the thyreophora tapestry; some claim it’s more closely aligned with the ankylosaur camp while others feel it preceded the divide and, hence, may be ancestral to both factions.

2. Scelidosaurus Was Named by the Same Dude who Coined the Word “Dinosaur.”

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Sir Richard Owen (1804-1892) invented the latter term during the spring of 1842. A year after Scelidosaurus’ discovery in 1858, this gifted naturalist scientifically described the creature and, due to its well-preserved hindquarters, gave it a name that means “limb lizard.”

3. Its Scales Were Small and Bumpy.

Associated skin impressions reveal that Scelidosaurus’ hide (at least the bits which weren’t covered in armored plating) featured tiny, rounded scales which created a pebbly, Gila monster-esque texture. 

4. Thanks to Nine Dino-Loving Grandkids, You Can See a Terrific Scelidosaurus Cast in Utah.

London looks, Flickr

Scelidosaurus displays are an uncommon sight in North America, but in 2011, Virginius Dabney of St. George, Utah, helped bring a top quality skeletal cast to this picturesque little city. When the locally-based Dinosaur Discovery Site museum expressed an interest in obtaining this item, Dabney, at his grandchildren’s urging, donated almost all of the necessary dough. “Now the grandkids can see grandpa’s dinosaur,” he said.

5. We’ve Found Some Pleasantly Intact Scelidosaurus Armor.

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Scutes (bony armor plates nestled in an animal’s skin) usually scatter during fossilization. Fortunately, however, one beautiful Scelidosaurus specimen opted to leave most of its scutes intact and in the same bodily places they occupied during life. Now that’s courtesy!

6. It’s Classified as a “Bird-Hipped” Dinosaur.

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Such fan favorites as Triceratops, Stegosaurus, and Iguanodon are technically known as ornithischian—or “bird-hipped”—dinos due to (among other things) the superficially avian-like position of their pubic bones. Long-necked dinosaurs like Brachiosaurus and carnivorous species such as T. rex belong to the “lizard-hipped” saurischian order. Confusingly, actual birds also belong to this second bunch. Hey, titles can be deceiving...

7. Scelidosaurus Can Claim an Important Historical Distinction.

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This British critter was the first dinosaur to be academically described on the basis of a well-preserved, articulated, and (mostly) complete skeleton. Prior to its discovery, the scientific community had little more than isolated bones and fragmented dino bits to work with.

8. The Animal Was a Jurassic Island Dweller.

During its day, higher sea levels converted much of Western Europe (including the UK) into a series of clustered islands.

9. Scelidosaurus Fossils Hail From a Very Narrow Geographic Range.

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Thus far, they’ve exclusively turned up in the greater Charmouth/Lyme Regis area of Dorset, England. To explain this, some scientists posit that, like today’s komodo dragon, Scelidosaurus may have only inhabited a single island, which would have been somewhere near these present-day villages.

10. But It Was Briefly Thought to Have Also Inhabited Arizona.

In 1989, a handful of isolated scutes which had been found in this southwestern state were cited as Scelidosaurus remains. However, several paleontologists have since rejected the claim, pointing out that these plates don’t look sufficiently Scelidosaurus-like to warrant a precise identification.