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Polacanthus - Dinosaur - Learn More | ABCDino
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Polacanthus

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Learn more about Polacanthus

Quick Facts
NamePolacanthus
Diet
Weight900 kg
Length4 meters
Height1.7 meters
Period
Polacanthus
Human

The polacanth was an ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous period of England. It was discovered on the Isle of Wight in 1865. The names come from the ancient Greek polys-/πολύς- "many" and akantha/ἄκανθα "thorn" or "prickle". It was an armored dinosaur with a row of spikes running down its sides and tail and an extra layer of spikes on its shoulders.

The polacanth was a medium-sized ankylosaur. The body had a thickened bone layer with osteoderms on its hips. It had a large "pelvic shield", a single fused sheet of dermal bone over its hips decorated with tubercles. 

The front body consists of five barbs on the right side and two on the left. The tail rows consisted of fifteen barbs that still exist, twenty-two shorter pairs, seven on the right and eight on the left.

Polacanthus preferred to live alone or in pairs or in three groups but did not tolerate more than six other dinosaurs in its enclosure. It reached about 5 meters in length and weighed 2 tons.

What does the name polacanto mean?

The names come from the ancient Greek polys-/πολύς- "many" and akantha/ἄκανθα "thorn" or "prickle".

Where did the polacanthus live?

The polacanth was an ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous period of England.

Is a polacanth a herbivore?

Yes, it was a dinosaur-eating plant. 

Where did they live?

When did they live?

What was your diet?

Who discovered them?

What kind of dinosaurs are they?

What type of species are they?

  • Genus authority given as Huxley1867 in some sources, such as the second edition of The Dinosauria.
  • Species authority given as Hulke1881 in some sources, such as the second edition of The Dinosauria.
  • Liddell & Scott (1980). Greek-English Lexicon, Abridged Edition. Oxford University PressOxford, UK. ISBN 0-19-910207-4. 
  • Fox W. (1865). On a new Wealden saurian named Polacanthus. Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1865 for 1864, p. 56
  • Blows WT. (1987). The armoured dinosaur Polacanthus foxifrom the Lower Cretaceous of the Isle of Wight, Palaeontology. 30, 557-580
  • Blows WT (1996) A new species of Polacanthus (Ornithischia; Ankylosauria) from the Lower Cretaceous of Sussex, England. Geological Magazine, 133 (6): 671-682.
geological time 3

Fun Facts

  • Polacanthus was a medium-sized ankylosaur. 
  • It was an armored dinosaur with a row of spikes.
  • It was a herbivore.
  • It has a thickened bone layer with osteoderms on its hips.

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