In the state of Arizona, in 1971, around the Kayenta formation, Douglas Lawler, a graduate of the University of California Berkeley, discovered the remains of a full-body skeleton of a dinosaur, along with an additional fossil, which was soon identified as a Scutellosaurus by paleontologist E.H. Cobert, at the Northern Arizona Museum in Flagstaff.
The Scutellosaurus Lawleri, which translates to “shielded lizard”, is a small species of a basal ornithischian dinosaur and is also an herbivorous dinosaur resembling a reptile from the early Jurassic period (about 200 to 176 million years ago), of North America. It is also recognized as the earliest armored dinosaur.
The Scutellosaurus is a dinosaur with strong front legs, approximately 1.2 meters (3.9ft) long, and with hips reaching 50 centimeters (12 inches). It was estimated that the dinosaur weighed about 10 kilos (22 lbs.)
It is said that it had a small, triangular-shaped head with a strange dentition. The dinosaur’s front jaws had short cutting teeth, along with pointed, sharp, leaf-shaped teeth on the sides.
This dinosaur had a muscular tail to balance itself when it reared its hind legs. They were also covered in small scutes, a bony plate on the skin, barely visible, on the dorsal surface, and on the skull, acting as protective armor, similar to a crocodile, to protect itself from predators, yet it was mostly to protect the skin when foraging for vegetation in rough patches. Along the back were much taller, triangular scutes interpreted as an evolutionary stage towards the Stegosaurus.
Research indicated that in the past, most dinosaurs were commonly less intelligent than modern mammals. This includes the Scutellosaurus, with a similar size to a dog, yet being far less intelligent than one.
The scutellosaurus reproduction lifestyle is still quite a mystery, with eggs or its offspring not yet been discovered by Paleontologists. Yet being a close member of the Thyreophora, researchers have concluded that the Scutellosaurus were egg-laying dinosaurs.
Being known from a few species, it is unable to be estimated for the population of its kind. For males or females, it is uncertain if they displayed any variation in their appearance or size.
After a thorough examination of its jaws, it is established that the dinosaur was herbivorous, having teeth similar to those of modern herbivorous reptiles. The vegetation during the Triassic period, with dozens of plant species such as ferns, cycads, and primitive conifers, was relatively low-growing close to the ground, making it easier for them and others to eat.
There is no evidence that Scutellosaurus were social dinosaurs, but it is suggested that Thyreophora lived as solitary herbivores or even in small family groups, giving the possibility that Scutellosaurus behaved the same way.
