Sarcolestes

flesh robber

• sarx (sarko-) · Greek · flesh
• lestes · Greek · robber

The name combines the Greek words for "flesh" and "robber". Lydekker chose it because he thought the lower jaw fossil came from a meat-eating dinosaur. It was later recognised as belonging to an armoured ankylosaur, so the name is misleading.

Named by

Lydekker

Year named

1893

Period

Middle Jurassic

Stage

Callovian

Found in

Oxford Clay Formation, near Peterborough, England, UK

The type species is Sarcolestes leedsi, known from a partial lower jaw. It was first described as a carnivorous dinosaur, but it is now regarded as an early armoured dinosaur (Ankylosauria). It is one of the oldest known ankylosaurs. The material is fragmentary, so its exact relationships and validity are debated.