Location : N. America, England

Scelidosaurus was one of the first of the armored dinosaur plant eaters that were not very tall and whose backs, head and neck were covered with bony plates called scutes. Some of these dinosaurs later developed bony clubs on their tails that they could have used to protect themselves from attacks. It would have been very hard for a predator to bite into this dinosaur from above without breaking its teeth!

The exact classification of Scelidosaurus is still being debated. Its dermal plates make it look very much like the later ankylosaurs, but it also shares many characteristics with early stegosaurs. The most prevalent opinion is that Scelidosaurus arose from Scutellosaurus  and may be at the base of two family trees - ankylosaurs and stegosaurs.

Scelidosaurus is known from two fairly complete specimens, one of which is a juvenile. It has been suggested that the hind limbs and long tail may have enabled this dinosaur to run short distances in a bipedal mode.