Scutellosaurus

*Scutellosaurus lawleri*

***Scutellosaurus lawleri*** (meaning "little shielded lizard") is an extinct genus of thyreophoran ornithischian dinosaur that lived approximately 196 million years ago during the early part of the Jurassic Period in what is now Arizona, USA. It is classified in Thyreophora, the armoured dinosaurs; its closest relatives may have been *Emausaurus* and *Scelidosaurus*, another armored dinosaur which was mainly a quadrupedal dinosaur, unlike bipedal *Scutellosaurus*. It is one of the earliest representatives of the armored dinosaurs and the basalmost form discovered to date.[1] *Scutellosaurus* was a small, lighly-built, ground-dwelling, herbivore, that could grow up to an estimated 1.175 meters (3.9 feet) long. He may have been of the family Fabrosauridae. He have a conection with the Fabrosaurus.

*Scutellosaurus* was lightly built, and was probably capable of walking on its hind legs. It had an unusually long tail, possibly to provide a counterbalance against the weight of the armored body, and long arms that suggest it may have browsed on all fours.[3] It was around 1.2 metres (3.9 feet) long,[3] 50 centimetres (20 in) tall at the hips, and weighed 10 kilograms (22 lbs). The fossil evidence includes two partial skeletons recovered
from Arizona, although of the skull only the lower jaw has been recovered. There were also several hundred scutes running along its neck to its back and as far down as its tail. These
formed parallel rows, with as many as five rows on each side. It also had double rows of scutes, or external plates, running neck to tail.[1] Some of these shields were flat, while others were pitted.

## Etymology

The genus name Scutellosaurus means "little-shielded lizard", and is derived from the Latin word "scutellum" meaning "little shield", and the Greek word "sauros" meaning "lizard".

## Description

Scutellosaurus was lightly built, and was probably capable of walking on its hind legs. It had an unusually long tail, possibly to provide a counterbalance against the weight of the armored body.

## Discovery and occurrence

The holotype specimen of Scutellosaurus lawleri (MNA V175) was recovered at the West Moenkopi Plateau locality in the Silty Facies Member of the Kayenta Formation, in Coconino County, Arizona on the land of the Navajo Nation.

## JPInstitute.com Description

Scutellosaurus is the oldest known armored dinosaur. It was a small dinosaur that looked like some of the very first Triassic dinosaurs. It walked on its hind legs, ate plants and had a long tail. It is thought that Scutellosaurus was related to the earlier Lesothosaurus, which it resembles very closely, apart from its armored plates. In fact, this little dinosaur was discovered with more than 300 little bony plates along its back and neck. Most scientists think that Scutellosaurus could have grown larger than those that have been found to date.

As the first armored dinosaur yet discovered, Scutellosaurus is probably the ancestor of both ankylosaurs and stegosaurs. There are many theories about this little dinosaur. Some feel that the weight of its bony plates would have created the need for it to walk quadrapedally, thus paving the way for its larger descendants.

## Links

http://web.archive.org/web/20030405110854/http://www.jpinstitute.com/dinopedia/dinocards/dc\_scute.html#