Hungarosaurus

Hungarosaurus was a medium-sized nodosaurid armoured dinosaur that lived in what is now western Hungary during the Late Cretaceous period. Discovered in an open-cast bauxite mine within the Csehbánya Formation, it is represented by multiple articulated and associated skeletons, making it one of the best-documented European ankylosaurs known. Reaching roughly four to four and a half metres in length, it was an island-dwelling quadruped whose head, neck, back, and hips were shielded by an intricate mosaic of hundreds of bony scutes, plates, and protruding shoulder spikes. Lacking a tail club, it relied entirely on this heavy defensive armour to deter predators. Hungarosaurus browsed close to the ground, feeding on herbaceous plants, flowering shrubs, and ferns within floodplain forests that dotted the prehistoric Mediterranean islands.

It is the most completely known armoured dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous European archipelago.

Where and when

Hungarosaurus lived in the Late Cretaceous, from 86.3 to 83.6 million years ago (Santonian age). Its remains come from Hungary, in the Csehbánya Formation.

The numbers

Length 4.3 m (estimates run from 4 to 4.5 m). Mass about 770 kg. Hip height about 1.3 m. That is 2.5 human-lengths, or 0.38 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.

Compare Hungarosaurus with a bus Place on the timeline