Gastonia
gas-TOH-nee-uh
- Lived
- 137 to 101 million years ago, Early Cretaceous
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Length
- about 4.6 m (15 ft)
- Group
- Ankylosaurs, Nodosauridae
- Found in
- United States
- Named by
- Kirkland 1998
Size comparison
To scale
Scale in metersOutline: typical ankylosaur shape
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
120 million years ago
Habitat
River floodplains in what is now Utah. The Cedar Mountain Formation also preserves Utahraptor, Falcarius and Peloroplites.
Field notes
About Gastonia
What it was like
Gastonia was an armored plant eater about 4.6 meters (15 feet) long. Its back was covered in bony plates, large spikes stuck out from its shoulders and sides, and a solid shield of fused armor covered its hips.
It had a low, wide body and walked on four short legs. Its closest relative was probably Polacanthus from England.
Its world
It lived in the Early Cretaceous, in what is now Utah. Its fossils come from the Cedar Mountain Formation, where the big raptor Utahraptor also lived and may have been among its dangers.
Other neighbors included the plant eater Falcarius and the armored Peloroplites.
How it was found
Kirkland named Gastonia in 1998. Three finds are known, and its bones were found in the same quarry as Utahraptor.
Field gallery
More views of Gastonia
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 3
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Gastonia.
The evidence
The science behind Gastonia
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- Its skull is nearly as wide as it is long, with a rough, bumpy upper surface.
- Its armor includes triangular side plates and a fused hip shield with large bony plates surrounded by smaller ones.
Borrowed from relatives
- Much of its skeleton and armor is known from its own bones; Polacanthus helps with comparisons of the armored body.
Still unknown
- The exact arrangement of all its armor plates in life.
- Its color.
- Whether it formed groups throughout its life or only at certain times.
Discovery timeline
- 1998Named itKirkland
- 2016Full descriptionKinneer, Carpenter & Shaw
- 2021Fossil sitesBotfalvai, Prondvai & Ősi
- 2023Family treeRaven et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Gastonia
Named it
Named an armored dinosaur from Utah and compared its bones and armor with those of Polacanthus.
A polacanthine ankylosaur (Ornithischia: Dinosauria) from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) of eastern Utah. Lower and Middle Cretaceous Terrestrial Ecosystems (S. G. Lucas, J. I. Kirkland, & J. W. Estep, eds.), New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 14:271-281.
No link available
Full description
Described the skeleton and armor in detail and named a second species from a bonebed in younger rocks.
Redescription of Gastonia burgei (Dinosauria: Ankylosauria, Polacanthidae), and description of a new species. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen 282: 37-80
Read the paper : Redescription of Gastonia burgei (Dinosauria: Ankylosauria, Polacanthidae), and description of a new species (opens in a new tab)Fossil sites
Compared ankylosaur bonebeds and suggested that Gastonia sometimes formed small groups, with different reasons for grouping across armored dinosaurs.
Living alone or moving in herds? A holistic approach highlights complexity in the social lifestyle of Cretaceous ankylosaurs. Cretaceous Research 118: 104633
Read the paper : Living alone or moving in herds? A holistic approach highlights complexity in the social lifestyle of Cretaceous ankylosaurs (opens in a new tab)Family tree
Proposed a revised armored-dinosaur family tree with Gastonia in a distinct branch, highlighting debate over the traditional family divisions.
The phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history of the armoured dinosaurs (Ornithischia: Thyreophora). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 21
Read the paper : The phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history of the armoured dinosaurs (Ornithischia: Thyreophora) (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Nodosauridae
Sources: Wikidata