Scutellosaurus

little-shield lizard

• scutellum · Latin · little shield
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name combines the Latin "scutellum", meaning "little shield", with the Greek "sauros", meaning "lizard". It refers to the roughly 300 small bony armor plates (osteoderms) that covered the animal's back, sides and tail. It was a small, lightly built early armored dinosaur.

Named by

Colbert

Year named

1981

Period

Early Jurassic

Stages

Sinemurian – Pliensbachian

Found in

Kayenta Formation, Arizona, USA

Usually regarded as an early thyreophoran (armored dinosaur), close to the base of the group that includes stegosaurs and ankylosaurs. The type species is Scutellosaurus lawleri. The exact stage range is uncertain, since the age of the Kayenta Formation is debated.