Dinosaur genus
Dacentrurus
Dacentrurus is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 154.8–137.1 million years old, in 4 countries, most often Portugal and Spain.
Confidence labels are switched off. Facts with low confidence, or where sources disagree, still carry a small dot: tap it for the reason.
At a glance
Data as of 11 October 2026- Named by
- Lucas 1902
disputed
low: Sources disagree and an editor has not ruled yet.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Described in
- F. A. Lucas (1902). Paleontological notes. The generic name Omosaurus. A new generic name for Stegosaurus marshi. Science, new series 16(402): 435.
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Lucas 1902).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. The publication the Paleobiology Database gives as the authority for this genus name, usually the one that first named and described it.
- Type species
- Dacentrurus armatus
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Lived
- Kimmeridgian to Barremian, 154.8–121.4 million years ago
high
high: PBDB and NHM agree.Omnisaura calculation154.8–137.1 million years ago, from its dated fossil recordsmedium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 26 confirmed PBDB records.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Fossils found in
- United KingdomFrance
high
high: NHM and PBDB both record it.Portugalmedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).Spainmedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (12 records).medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (11 records).mixed
mixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
- Rock formations
- Kimmeridge Clay FormationAlcobaça
high
high: NHM and PBDB both record it.Argiles d'Octevillemedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).Freixialmedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).Lourinhãmedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).Villar del Arzobispomedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (6 records).Piedrahita de Muñómedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (10 records).Praia da Amoreira-Porto Novolow
low: Only one PBDB record.low
low: Only one PBDB record.mixed
mixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.
- Family
- Stegosauridae
high
high: PBDB and NHM agree.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Parent group
- Dacentrurinae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Species named in its records
- Dacentrurus armatus, Dacentrurus lennieri
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).
- Older or other names
- Miragaia (a junior synonym); Natronasaurus (a junior synonym); Omosaurus (a name it replaced)
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (names it treats as this genus).
- Diet
- herbivore (inferred for its group)
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this, and it infers it for the whole of Ornithischia, the group this genus belongs to, not from this genus's own fossils.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
- Way of life
- ground dwelling, gregarious (inferred for its group)
low
low: PBDB infers this way of life for the whole of Ornithischia; behaviour is rarely known for one genus.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
- Known from
- Bones
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).
Gaps are answers
What isn't known yet
- Order: no source we use gives it yet.
- Common names: no source we use gives it yet.
- What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
- Held back: 2 fossil records left out: identified only tentatively (for example "cf.", "?" or the name in quotation marks).
- Held back: 2 fossil records left out: identified as a related genus rather than this one.
- Resting on one source: 3 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): type species (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); diet (PBDB).
Size and appearance aren't covered yet, and diet and way of life only as PBDB infers them for the wider group. Omnisaura leaves the rest out rather than guess.
Where sources disagree
1 openAuthority
- Lucas 1902PBDB (shown above)
- Richard Owen, 1875Wikidata
The sources give different values. An editor hasn't ruled yet, so this is rated low until they do.
Did it meet…?
No. Dacentrurus had gone at least 53.5 million years before Tyrannosaurus appears in the fossil record.
Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.
Connections
Genera linked to Dacentrurus by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.
Same rocks, same time 22
Genera found in the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.
Same family: Stegosauridae 8
Other genera in Stegosauridae with a full profile.
Named by Lucas 4
Genera whose naming authority includes the same surname. The authority has no initials, so different people who share a surname can appear together.
Found in Portugal 17
Other genera found in Portugal, from rocks of overlapping age, the most fossil sites there first.
Credits
Where this page comes from
- Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
- Natural History Museum Data PortalCC0 1.0 · catalogued specimens
- WikidataCC0 1.0 · names and identifiers
- OmnisauraOmnisaura editorial · confidence levels and gaps
- PaleoMAP PaleoCoastlines (Kocsis and Scotese 2021)CC BY 4.0 · ancient coastlines on the small map
- Natural EarthPublic domain · today's coastlines
Pictures linked from this page are credited beside each one, with their own licences; the full list is in the JSON download.