Fun Gastonia Facts For Kids

Gastonia was a herbivorous dinosaur living in North America during the late Cretaceous period. This animal roamed the Earth more than 125-130 million years ago from now. Gastonia fossils were found in a city in Utah in North America. It was the paleontologist Robert Gaston who discovered the fossils. Hence, the species has been named after him. Keep reading to know more interesting and quick facts about Gastonia.

How do you pronounce 'Gastonia'?

Gastonia is pronounced as 'Gas-tow-knee-ya'. It was named after the person who first discovered the fossils of this dinosaur. His name was Robert Gaston.

What type of dinosaur was a Gastonia?

The Gastonia was a herbivorous dinosaur. Gastonia can be said to be a nodosaurid dinosaur. Nodosauridae are a herbivorous Ornithischia group of dinosaurs that lived from the late Jurassic period to the late Cretaceous period.

In which geological period did the Gastonia roam the Earth?

Gastonia was found on Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period.

When did Gastonia become extinct?

The exact year of extinction of Gastonia is not known. Dinosaurs became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period due to the impact of an asteroid on Earth.

Where did Gastonia live?

Gastonia lived in North America. Since the fossil of this animal was extracted from Utah, it can be assumed that this dinosaur was prevalent in similar areas.

What was Gastonia's habitat?

The exact habitat of Gastonia is not known. In general, dinosaurs mostly lived in dense forests or swamplands. Dinosaurs also lived around water bodies like streams or rivers.

Who did Gastonia live with?

Most dinosaurs were known to live in groups. Herbivorous ones could form social groups.

How long did a Gastonia live?

Even though the lifespan of a Gastonia is not known, most nodosaurid dinosaurs lived for an average of 71 years.

How did they reproduce?

Every dinosaur had an oviparous method of reproduction. This means that they produced offspring by laying eggs. A few days later young ones would hatch from the eggs. Neither the mother dinosaur nor the father dinosaur would look after these newly borns. Hence, the hatchlings would take care of themselves ever since they were born. A notch with a gradual curve was present in the middle of the front of the snout.

What did the Gastonia look like?

These animals were armored dinosaurs. Kirkland described three features that were unique to the physical appearance of this dinosaur. The belly was protruding, flat, and broad. The Gastonia had a long neck and a comparatively smaller skull. The skin color of the species was green, black, gray, and white.

How many bones did a Gastonia have?

The number of bones in the body of the Gastonia remains unknown. A dinosaur was known to have 200 bones approximately.

How did they communicate?

Dinosaurs communicated by gestures, sounds, sight, and smell. A dinosaur could also perform mating rituals or even give out love calls.

How big was the Gastonia?

This dinosaur was at least 236.2 in (600 cm) long. That is six times the length of a sheep.

How fast could a Gastonia move?

Although the speed of a Gastonia remains unknown, a dinosaur had a running speed of 23-55 mph (37-88.5 kph).

How much did a Gastonia weigh?

This dinosaur weighed around 4256 lb (1930.4 kg) approximately.

What were the male and female names of the species?

There are no specific names for males and females of the species.

What would you call a baby Gastonia?

A baby dinosaur is known as a hatchling.

How aggressive were they?

This dinosaur was not aggressive. Gastonia was a herbivore and did not prey on other animals.

Did You Know…

To get a look at the Gastonia fossil, people can go to The Schiele Museum of Natural History. This Museum has plenty of permanent exhibits. These can be found in the Hall of North Carolina Natural History, among others.

Kirkland stated that the skull of this dinosaur measured about 11.1-11.6 in (28.1-29.4 cm).

It was Kirkland who named the only species of the Gastonia as the Gastonia burgei in 1991.