Scelidosaurus is a genus of herbivorous armored ornithischian dinosaur from the Jurassic of England.
Scelidosaurus lived during the Early Jurassic Period, during the Sinemurian to Pliensbachian stages around 191 million years ago. This genus and related genera at the time lived on the supercontinent Laurasia. Its fossils have been found in the Charmouth Mudstone Formation near Charmouth in Dorset, England, and these fossils are known for their excellent preservation. Scelidosaurus has been claimed as one of the earliest complete dinosaur, and is among the most completely known dinosaur of the British Isles. Despite this, a modern description only materialised in 2020. After initial finds in the 1850s, comparative anatomist Richard Owen named and described Scelidosaurus in 1859. Only 1 species, Scelidosaurus harrisonii named by Owen in 1861, is considered valid today, although one other species was proposed in 1996.
Scelidosaurus was about 4 meters (13 feet) long. It was a largely quadrupedal animal, feeding on low scrubby plants, the parts of which were bitten off by the small, elongated head to be processed in the large gut. Scelidosaurus was lightly armored, protected by long horizontal rows of keeled oval scutes that stretched along the neck, back and tail.
1 of the oldest known and most "primitive" of the thyreophorans, the exact placement of Scelidosaurus within this group has been the subject of debate for nearly 150 years. This was not helped by the limited additional knowledge about the early evolution of armored dinosaurs. Today most evidence suggests that Scelidosaurus is the most derived of the known basal thyreophorans, either closely related to Ankylosauria or Stegosauria.
Its North American relative, Scutellosaurus was probably a primary food source for Dilophosaurus.
 |
Wikipedia has a more detailed and comprehensive article on Scelidosaurus |
Jurassic Park franchise[]
Scelidosaurus is yet to appear in a Jurassic Park movie. It has appeared in the website Jurassic Park Institute on Dinopedia.
Games[]
Jurassic Park III: Park Builder[]
Scelidosaurus is number 60 of the Herbivore Twos that can be created in Jurassic Park III: Park Builder.
Jurassic World: Alive[]
See: Scelidosaurus/JW: A
Scelidosaurus returns in Jurassic World: Alive as a legendary resilient dinosaur that was added in Update 3.5 on March 12, 2024.
Jurassic World: The Game[]
See: Scelidosaurus/JW: TG
Scelidosaurus is an upcoming legendary tournament non-hybrid herbivore dinosaur that will be released sometime in 2024. Like several other animals, its model is from Jurassic World: Alive.
Toys[]
Scelidosaurus appeared in an unknown Jurassic Park egg collection. Its appearance is very outdated: its legs are very short, its spikes are large as well as being aligned all over the body, it lacks a beak and instead has sharp teeth.
