Loricatosaurus
Encyclopedia
Loricatosaurus is a genus
of stegosaurid
dinosaur
from Callovian
-age (Middle Jurassic
) rocks of England
and France
. It is known from remains previously assigned to Lexovisaurus
; however, upon review of the material, Susannah Maidment and colleagues determined that Lexovisaurus was based upon nondiagnostic remains, and coined a new genus for the other specimens. The species name, priscus, comes from the oldest name associated with diagnostic specimens, Baron Franz Nopcsa
's "Stegosaurus
" priscus of 1911. It is known from two partial skeletons. Contrary to previous reports (as Lexovisaurus), a shoulder spine is not present in the known material; the possible spine is more likely from the tail.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of stegosaurid
Stegosauridae
Stegosauridae is a family of stegosauria, large thyreophorans. They lived longer than other Stegosaurs; while all Huayangosauridae and most of basal stegosaurs died out in Tithonian - Kimmeridgian, stegosauridae survived till Middle Cretaceous. They are usually characterized by triangular plates on...
dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
from Callovian
Callovian
In the geologic timescale, the Callovian is an age or stage in the Middle Jurassic, lasting between 164.7 ± 4.0 Ma and 161.2 ± 4.0 Ma. It is the last stage of the Middle Jurassic, following the Bathonian and preceding the Oxfordian....
-age (Middle Jurassic
Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from 176-161 million years ago. In European lithostratigraphy, rocks of this Middle Jurassic age are called the Dogger....
) rocks of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It is known from remains previously assigned to Lexovisaurus
Lexovisaurus
Lexovisaurus was one of the first dinosaurs from mid-to-Late Jurassic Europe, 164.7 mya to be discovered. It was a stegosaur. Its fossils have been found in France and northern England....
; however, upon review of the material, Susannah Maidment and colleagues determined that Lexovisaurus was based upon nondiagnostic remains, and coined a new genus for the other specimens. The species name, priscus, comes from the oldest name associated with diagnostic specimens, Baron Franz Nopcsa
Franz Nopcsa von Felso-Szilvás
Baron Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás was a Hungarian-born aristocrat, adventurer, scholar, and paleontologist...
's "Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus is a genus of armored stegosaurid dinosaur. They lived during the Late Jurassic period , some 155 to 150 million years ago in what is now western North America. In 2006, a specimen of Stegosaurus was announced from Portugal, showing that they were present in Europe as well...
" priscus of 1911. It is known from two partial skeletons. Contrary to previous reports (as Lexovisaurus), a shoulder spine is not present in the known material; the possible spine is more likely from the tail.