Gastonia

Gaston's (dinosaur), named for Robert Gaston

• Gaston · English (surname) · Robert Gaston, the discoverer
• -ia · Latin · Latin suffix for a genus name

Gastonia was named in honour of Robert Gaston, an amateur fossil collector who discovered the first remains of the animal in Utah. The name is a Latinised form of his surname with the feminine ending -ia. It is an armoured nodosaurid-like ankylosaur, notable for its large spikes on the shoulders and tail.

Named by

Kirkland

Year named

1998

Period

Early Cretaceous

Stages

Barremian – Aptian

Found in

Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah, USA

Gastonia is a valid ankylosaurian genus in the family Polacanthidae (sometimes placed in Ankylosauridae or Nodosauridae). The type species is Gastonia burgei. Its stage range is approximate.