About listen

Dacentrurus (meaning "tail full of points"), originally known as Omosaurus, was a large stegosaur of the Late Jurassic Period (154 - 150 mya) of Europe. Its type species, Omosaurus armatus, was named in 1875, based on a skeleton found in England. In 1902 the genus was renamed into Dacentrurus because the name Omosaurus had already been used for a crocodilian. After 1875, half a dozen other species would be named but perhaps only Dacentrurus armatus is valid.

Finds of this animal have been limited and much of its appearance is uncertain. It was a heavily built quadrupedal herbivore, adorned with plates and spikes.