Dacentrurus

Dacentrurus Temporal range: Late Jurassic, - Early Cretaceous 154–140 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Holotype specimen (NHMUK OR 46013), Natural History Museum, London
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Dinosauria
Clade:	†Ornithischia
Clade:	†Thyreophora
Clade:	†Stegosauria
Family:	†Stegosauridae
Subfamily:	†Dacentrurinae
Genus:	†Dacentrurus Lucas, 1902
Species:	†D. armatus
Binomial name
†Dacentrurus armatus (Owen, 1875 [originally Omosaurus])
Synonyms
Miragaia longicollum? Mateus et al., 2009 Omosaurus armatus Owen, 1875 (type, preoccupied)

Dacentrurus (meaning "tail full of points"), originally known as Omosaurus, is a genus of stegosaurian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic and perhaps Early Cretaceous (154 - 140 mya) of Europe.

Its type species, Omosaurus armatus, was named in 1875, based on a skeleton found in a clay pit in the Kimmeridge Clay in Swindon, England. In 1902 the genus was renamed Dacentrurus because the name Omosaurus had already been used for a phytosaur. After 1875, half a dozen other species would be named but perhaps only Dacentrurus armatus is valid.

Dacentrurus was the largest stegosaur measuring around 8–9 metres (26–30 ft) long and weighing up to 5–7.4 metric tons (5.5–8.2 short tons). Finds of this animal have been limited, so much of its appearance is uncertain and its relationship with other members of the Dacentrurinae are contentious. Some researchers suggest that Miragaia longicollum represents a junior synonym of this taxon.^[1]