Basic info Taxonomic history Classification Included Taxa
Morphology Ecology and taphonomy External Literature Search Age range and collections

Scelidosaurus

Reptilia

Taxonomy
Scelidosaurus was named by Owen (1859). It is the type genus of Scelidosauridae, Scelidosaurinae.

It was assigned to Orthopoda by Cope (1866), Seeley (1879); to Stegosauria by Quenstedt (1882); to Scelidosauria by Sauvage (1882); to Stegosauria by Dollo (1885); to Dinosauria by Owen (1859), Owen (1860), Owen (1861), Owen (1861), Owen (1862), Mansel-Pleydell (1888); to Stegosauri by Gadow (1897); to Stegosauri by Gadow (1898), Gadow (1901); to Omosauridae by Huene (1909); to Stegosauridae by Nopcsa (1901), von Zittel (1911), Tornier (1913), Lambe (1918), Joleaud (1922); to Stegosauria by Dollo (1889), Delair (1960); to Ankylosauria by Thulborn (1971); to Scelidosauroidea by Zhao (1983); to Scelidosaurinae by Nopcsa (1928), Romer (1956), Zhou (1986); to Ankylosauromorpha by Carpenter (2001); to Thyreophoroidea by Sereno (1986), Maidment et al. (2008); to Thyreophora by Benton (1990), Sereno (1997), Sereno (1998), Sereno (1999), Barrett (2001), Norman et al. (2004), Maidment et al. (2006), Norman et al. (2007), Butler et al. (2007), Nesbitt et al. (2007), Butler et al. (2008); to Scelidosauridae by Cope (1869), Marsh (1880), Sauvage (1882), Marsh (1882), Dollo (1884), Marsh (1884), Marsh (1885), Lydekker (1888), Lydekker (1888), Zittel (1890), Baur (1891), Marsh (1896), Mansel-Pleydell (1902), Hennig (1915), Lull (1924), Tatarinov (1964), Kuhn (1964), Ginsburg (1964), Romer (1966), Charig (1967), Swinton (1970), Thulborn (1974), Thulborn (1977), Galton (1983), Galton (1985), Carroll (1988), Martill (1991), Dong (2001), Ulansky (2014); and to Thyreophora by Avanzini et al. (2001), Naish and Martill (2008), Han et al. (2012), Madzia et al. (2018), Norman (2020), Dieudonné et al. (2020).

Species
S. harrisonii

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1859Scelidosaurus Owen p. 150–151
1860Scelidosaurus Owen p. 258
1861Scelidosaurus Owen p. 1
1862Scelidosaurus Owen p. 1
1866Scelidosaurus Cope p. 317
1869Scelidosaurus Cope p. 91
1879Scelidosaurus Seeley p. 183
1880Scelidosaurus Marsh
1882Scelidosaurus Marsh
1882Scelidosaurus Quenstedt p. 188
1882Scelidosaurus Sauvage p. 35
1884Scelidosaurus Dollo p. 298
1884Scelidosaurus Marsh p. 68
1885Scelidosaurus Dollo p. 36
1885Scelidosaurus Marsh p. 764
1888Scelidosaurus Lydekker p. 52
1888Scelidosaurus Mansel-Pleydell p. 36
1889Scelidosaurus Dollo p. 678
1890Scelidosaurus Zittel p. 741
1891Scelidosaurus Baur p. 452
1896Scelidosaurus Marsh p. 243
1897Scelidosaurus Gadow p. 205
1898Scelidosaurus Gadow p. 22
1901Scelidosaurus Gadow p. 425
1901Scelidosaurus Nopcsa p. 215
1902Scelidosaurus Mansel-Pleydell p. lxxxi
1909Scelidosaurus Huene p. 17
1911Scelidosaurus von Zittel p. 293
1913Scelidosaurus Tornier p. 373
1915Scelidosaurus Hennig p. 10
1918Scelidosaurus Lambe pp. 34-35
1922Scelidosaurus Joleaud p. 63
1924Scelidosaurus Lull p. 241
1928Scelidosaurus Nopcsa p. 185
1956Scelidosaurus Romer p. 633
1960Scelidosaurus Delair p. 86
1964Scelidosaurus Ginsburg p. 2366
1964Scelidosaurus Kuhn p. 32
1964Scelidosaurus Tatarinov p. 572
1966Scelidosaurus Romer p. 370
1967Scelidosaurus Charig p. 715
1970Scelidosaurus Swinton p. 242
1971Scelidosaurus Thulborn p. 77
1974Scelidosaurus Thulborn p. 172
1977Scelidosaurus Thulborn p. 727
1983Scelidosaurus Galton p. 4
1983Scelidosaurus Zhao p. 302
1985Scelidosaurus Galton p. 251
1986Scelidosaurus Sereno
1986Scelidosaurus Zhou p. 35
1988Scelidosaurus Carroll
1990Scelidosaurus Benton p. 19
1991Scelidosaurus Martill p. 61
1997Scelidosaurus Sereno p. 440 fig. 2
1998Scelidosaurus Sereno p. 67 fig. 5
1999Scelidosaurus Sereno p. 2138 fig. 2
2001Scelidosaurus Avanzini et al. p. 240
2001Scelidosaurus Barrett p. 27 fig. 2.1
2001Scelidosaurus Carpenter p. 457
2001Scelidosaurus Dong p. 241
2004Scelidosaurus Norman et al. p. 337
2006Scelidosaurus Maidment et al. p. 951 fig. 8
2007Scelidosaurus Butler et al. fig. S2
2007Scelidosaurus Nesbitt et al. p. 236
2007Scelidosaurus Norman et al. p. 867
2008Scelidosaurus Butler et al. p. 20 figs. 2-4
2008Scelidosaurus Maidment et al. p. 390 fig. 11
2008Scelidosaurus Naish and Martill p. 614
2012Scelidosaurus Han et al. p. 1391 fig. 14
2014Scelidosaurus Ulansky p. 4
2018Scelidosaurus Madzia et al. p. 973 fig. 4
2020Scelidosaurus Dieudonné et al.
2020Scelidosaurus Norman p. 12

Is something missing? Join the Paleobiology Database and enter the data

RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
—Sauropsida
RankNameAuthor
classReptilia
subclassEureptilia()
—Romeriida
—Diapsida()
—Archosauromorpha(Huene 1946)
—Crocopoda
—ArchosauriformesGauthier 1986
—Eucrocopoda
—Archosauria()
informalAvemetatarsalia
—Ornithodira
—Dinosauromorpha
—Dinosauriformes
—Dinosauria()
—Ornithischia()
—Genasauria
—Thyreophora()
genusScelidosaurus

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. †Scelidosaurus Owen 1859
show all | hide all
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
R. Owen 1859a Saurian with large and hollow limb-bones, with a femur having the third inner trochanter, and with metacarpal and phalangial bones adapted for movement on land.
D. B. Norman 2020Monotypic genus, therefore, as for species S. harrisonii.
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: hydroxyapatiteo
Entire body: yesg
Adult length: 10 to < 100o
Adult width: 1.0 to < 10o
Adult height: 1.0 to < 10o
Maximum body mass: 1000 kgg
Minimum body mass: 300 kgg
Architecture: compact or denseo
Ontogeny: accretion, modification of partso
Grouping: gregariouso
Environment: terrestrialo
Locomotion: actively mobileo
Life habit: ground dwellingo
Diet: herbivoreo
Reproduction: oviparouso
Dispersal: direct/internalo
Dispersal 2: mobileo
Created: 2005-08-25 06:10:22
Modified: 2005-08-25 08:10:22
Source: g = genus, o = order
References: Marsh 1875, Peczkis 1995

Age range: base of the Hettangian to the top of the Early/Lower Pliensbachian or 201.30000 to 183.00000 Ma

Collections (13 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Rhaetian - Sinemurian208.5 - 190.8United Kingdom (England) S. sp. (25838)
Early/Lower Jurassic201.4 - 174.7China (Xizang) S. sp. (165590)
Hettangian201.3 - 199.3United Kingdom (Northern Ireland) Thyreophora indet. (139588)
Sinemurian199.3 - 190.8United Kingdom (England) S. harrisonii (52260 84559 223809 223810 223811 223812 223813) S. sp. (96467)
Late/Upper Sinemurian196.5 - 189.6United Kingdom (England) S. sp. (52749)
Early/Lower Pliensbachian189.6 - 183.0United Kingdom (England) S. sp. (92715)