Acanthopholis

Taxobox
name = "Acanthopholis"
fossil range = Early Cretaceous


image_width = 200px
image_caption = Artist's rendering of "Acanthopholis".
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
superordo = Dinosauria
ordo = Ornithischia
subordo = Thyreophora
infraordo = Ankylosauria
familia = Nodosauridae
genus = "Acanthopholis"
genus_authority=Huxley, 1867
subdivision_ranks=Species
subdivision=
*"A. horridus" Huxley, 1867 (type)

"Acanthopholis" (pronEng|ˌækənˈθoʊfəlɨs) (meaning "spiny scales") is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur in the family Nodosauridae that lived during the Early Cretaceous Period (Albian to Cenomanian stages) around 100 million years ago. The dinosaur's name refers to the its armour (Greek "akantha" meaning 'spine' or 'thorn' and "pholis" meaning 'scale'). "Acanthopholis's" armour consisted of oval plates set almost horizontally into the skin, with spikes protruding from the neck and shoulder area, along the spine. "Acanthopholis" was quadrupedal and herbivorous. Its size has been estimated to be in the range of 3 to 5.5 meters (10 to 18 ft) long and approximately 380 kilograms (840 lb) in weight.

A find of a braincase and some postcranial elements was discovered in England in 1867, and was named "Acanthopholis horridus" by Thomas Huxley. "Acanthopholis" is an invalid name in some sources, which state that not enough information has been collected to tell that the find is anything more than a nodosaur.

References

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External links

* [http://www.dinoruss.org/de_4/5a641a8.htm "Acanthopholis" in the Dinosaur Encyclopaedia] at Dino Russ's Lair
* [http://www.dinosaurier-web.de/galery/pages_a/acanthopholis.html "Acanthopholis data sheet" at Dinosaurier-Web.de (in English and German)]