Niobrarasaurus

Niobrarasaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 87–82 Ma
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Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: †Ornithischia
Clade: †Thyreophora
Clade: †Ankylosauria
Family: †Nodosauridae
Subfamily: †Nodosaurinae
Genus: †Niobrarasaurus
Carpenter et al., 1995[1]
Species:
†N. coleii
Binomial name
†Niobrarasaurus coleii
Synonyms
  • Hierosaurus coleii Mehl, 1936[2]
  • Nodosaurus coleii (Mehl, 1936) Vickaryous et al., 2004[3]

Niobrarasaurus (meaning "Niobrara lizard") is an extinct genus of nodosaurid ankylosaur which lived during the Cretaceous 87 to 82 million years ago. Its fossils were found in the Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Formation, in western Kansas, which would have been near the middle of Western Interior Sea during the Late Cretaceous. It was a nodosaurid, an ankylosaur without a clubbed tail. It was closely related to Nodosaurus.

The type species, Niobrarasaurus coleii, was discovered and collected in 1930 by a geologist named Virgil Cole. It was originally described by Mehl in 1936 and named Hierosaurus coleii. It was then re-described as a new genus by Carpenter et al. in 1995. In 2002 the type specimen was transferred to the Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Hays, Kansas. It has been estimated to be 5 meters (16 feet) in length and around 227–453 kg (500–1.000 lbs) according to Thomas Holtz.[4] Paul gave a higher estimation of 6.5 meters (21.3 ft) and 4 tonnes (8.800 lbs).[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference carpenter1995 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference mehl1936 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference vickaryous2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Holtz, Thomas R. (2012). "Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages" (PDF).
  5. ^ Paul, Gregory S. (2010). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 230.