Fun Loricatosaurus Facts For Kids

The Loricatosaurus was a type of Stegosauridae dinosaur which lived in England and France in the Middle Jurassic period. Its name is derived from the term 'armored lizard' which refers to the armor-like plates on its back that are present in all stegosaurid dinosaurs. It belonged to clade Dinosauria, Ornithischia order, and genus Loricatosaurus. Its diet was herbivore in nature, and its reconstruction has been derived from the discovery of two fossilized specimens.

To learn more about this amazing dinosaur species, read on! For more relatable content, check out these Hippodraco facts and Martharaptor facts for kids.

How do you pronounce 'Loricatosaurus'?

Loricatosaurus can be pronounced as 'lo-re-cah-toe-sore-us'.

What type of dinosaur was a Loricatosaurus?

The Loricatosaurus was a genus or type of Stegosaurus or stegosaurid dinosaur, meaning a herbivorous four-legged dinosaur with spikes down its back. It belonged to clade Dinosauria, Ornithischia order.

In which geological period did the Loricatosaurus roam the Earth?

Loricatosaurus priscus dinosaurs lived during the range of the Callovian age in the Middle Jurassic period which lasted from 166.3-163.5 million years ago.

When did the Loricatosaurus become extinct?

The last Loricatosaurus priscus dinosaur mostly died out around 163.5 million years ago, around the end of the Callovian age of the Middle Jurassic period.

Where did a Loricatosaurus live?

The Loricatosaurus was known to live around England and France, Europe.

What was a Loricatosaurus' habitat?

The fossils of this dinosaur genus have been found in plains. We can assume that the Loricatosaurus priscus lived in densely vegetated prairies, grasslands, and mineral-rich plains.

Who did a Loricatosaurus live with?

These Jurassic dinosaurs mostly lived in packs. There are high chances of herbivorous dinosaurs living and feeding together in groups, and this theory has been developed due to the discovery of a number of fossilized trackways containing a sequence of dinosaur footprints, all suggesting the presence of dinosaurs traveling in groups.

How long did a Loricatosaurus live?

Though the exact lifespan of this dinosaur species cannot be determined, it has been estimated that they lived quite long lives, akin to those of similar reptiles like crocodiles and turtles. Due to their slow metabolisms and herbivorous diets, these beasts have been estimated to live between 80-300 years.

How did they reproduce?

Loricatosaurus priscus dinosaurs were oviparous and reproduced by laying eggs. Their mating process was mostly similar to that of modern-day reptiles, with internal fertilization taking place inside the female's body.

What did a Loricatosaurus look like?

The Loricatosaurus priscus was a long, heavy dinosaur that had a number of flat, narrow armored plates on its back and rounded spikes running down its tail. It looked similar to other stegosaurs, with a small head, four thick legs, and a long heavy tail covered with spines, though none on the shoulder as was previously thought. The heavy armor present on its body provided justice to its given name of 'armored lizard'.

How many bones did a Loricatosaurus have?

Though the exact number of bones this Stegosaurus had has not been determined, the number of bones possessed by the average dinosaur has been worked out to be around 200, hence the Loricatosaurus dinosaur most probably had around 200 bones.

How did they communicate?

Dinosaurs are known for their loud, earth-shaking roars which are mostly how this dinosaur communicated. They mostly used bellowing roars, grunts of low rumbling noises to communicate, in order to mate or chase away other dinosaurs from their territories. Visual displays were also probably used, with raising of the front legs, stomping, and tail whipping involved. Stegosaurus dinosaurs had an array of spikes on their back, which they brandished at enemies in order to keep them away.

How big was a Loricatosaurus?

The Loricatosaurus priscus dinosaur species grew to be about 19.7 ft (6 m) in length.

How fast could a Loricatosaurus move?

Most Stegosaurus lizards were quite slow, only being able to cover a distance at a speed of 3.7-4.3 mph (6-7 kph).

How much did a Loricatosaurus weigh?

These dinosaurs weighed around 4409.2 lb (2000 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

A male dinosaur has been termed as a 'saurus' whereas the female dinosaur is known as 'saura'. We do not make any distinction in sex while referring to dinosaurs though.

What would you call a baby Loricatosaurus?

Baby Loricatosaurus dinosaurs hatched from eggs and are called hatchlings.

What did they eat?

Since Loricatosaurus dinosaurs followed a herbivorous diet, they most likely sustained themselves on a diet of leaves, twigs, roots, and rudimentary fruits, vegetables, and seeds.

How aggressive were they?

Though this herbivorous dinosaur species did not prey on smaller creatures, they still had to be quite aggressive in order to protect themselves from predatory dinosaurs which were larger in size such as various therapods and velociraptors. They had a number of defensive mechanisms such as tough, scaly armor, bludgeon, and mace-like tails and sharp horns and spikes on their body, in order to attack any incoming predators head-on. The Loricatosaurus dinosaur species had a long, thick tail and spikes on its back, which it must have used in order to engage in combat with other dinosaurs.

Did you know...

The species name 'priscus' derives from the Latin word for 'ancient'.

It was previously confused with a similar species, the Lexovisaurus due to the misconception of the Loricatosaurus remains having shoulder spines.

How did the Loricatosaurus get its name?

The name Loricatosaurus means 'armored lizard' referring to the number of armored spines present on its spine and along its tail.

What is the link between the Loricatosaurus and the Lexovisaurus?

When originally found, Loricatosaurus fossils were thought to be similar to that of the Lexovisaurus, which was also found in England and France. However, on close inspection of the specimens, it was revealed that the previously thought shoulder spines on the Loricatosaurus fossils specimens were actually spines located on the end of the tail, hence creating the need to assign it a separate genus.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other dinosaurs from our Paralititan surprising facts and Claosaurus fun facts for kids pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Loricatosaurus coloring pages.

Main image by Nobu Tamura

Second image by Mike Pennington

We've been unable to source an image of Loricatosaurus and have used an image of Stegosaurus instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Loricatosaurus, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at [email protected].