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Size:
4.5 metres
Weight: 500 kgs
Distribution: England
Description:
This dinosaur’s name means ‘spine bearer’, gained from the heavy
armament along it’s back and sides.
Most of this armour was made up of small, oval ‘scutes’ or
nodules set into a tough, base along it’s back.
There were also small, nodules set into the side of the legs and
possibly along the throat.
The most impressive armour was composed of several long spines
which were most likely placed about the shoulders.
This armour would have been a useful form of defence against the
carnivorous dinosaurs of the time as it’s low, heavy body would not
have been able to move fast enough to escape from a predatory.
There is uncertainty over the overall appearance of acanthopholis
and the precise arrangement of its spikes and spines as remains have been very
fragmentary and consist mostly of armour and little body remains.
Its remains have been found in England and it existed during the
early Cretaceous period.
As in the reconstruction shown here, the best preserved specimen
of acanthopholis was found in a marine deposit and may have been
visiting a beach to feed on seaweed before it either drowned or died and
was washed out to sea.
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