Dinosaur genus
Loricatosaurus
Loricatosaurus is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 165.3–161.5 million years old, in France and the United Kingdom.
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
- Maidment et al. 2008
disputed
low: Sources disagree and an editor has not ruled yet.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Described in
- S. C. R. Maidment, D. B. Norman, P. M. Barrett, P. Upchurch (2008). Systematics and phylogeny of Stegosauria (Dinosauria: Ornithischia). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 6(4): 367–407. Read it
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Maidment et al. 2008).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.
- Lived
- Callovian, 165.3–161.5 million years ago
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives a range this precise; NHM's records give only a broader interval, which contains it.Omnisaura calculation165.3–161.5 million years ago, from its dated fossil recordslow
low: Omnisaura's calculation from only 2 dated record(s).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Fossils found in
- United KingdomFrance
high
high: NHM and PBDB both record it.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: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
- Rock formations
- Oxford Clay FormationMarnes à Belemnopsis latesulcatus
high
high: NHM and PBDB both record it.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
- Stegosaurinae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Order
- Ornithischia
medium
medium: Only NHM gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Gap filled from NHM.
- Species named in its records
- Loricatosaurus priscus
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).
- 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
- Type species: 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.
- Resting on one source: 4 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): parent group (PBDB); order (NHM); age (headline) (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
- Maidment et al. 2008PBDB (shown above)
- Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás, 1911Wikidata
The sources give different values. An editor hasn't ruled yet, so this is rated low until they do.
Did it meet…?
No. Loricatosaurus had gone at least 77.9 million years before Tyrannosaurus appears in the fossil record, a longer gap than the 66 million years between Tyrannosaurus and today.
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 Loricatosaurus 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 3
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 Maidment 2
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 France 2
Other genera found in France, 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.