Tenontosaurus
Tenontosaurus (/tɪˌnɒntəˈsɔːrəs/ ti-NON-tə-SOR-əs; lit. 'sinew lizard') is a genus of medium- to large-sized ornithopod dinosaur. It was a relatively medium sized ornithopod, reaching 6.5 to 8 meters (21 to 26 ft) in length and 600 to 1,000 kilograms (1,300 to 2,200 lb) in body mass. It had an unusually long, broad tail, which like its back was stiffened with a network of bony tendons.
| Tenontosaurus | |
|---|---|
| T. dossi on exhibit in the Perot Museum of Nature and Science | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | †Ornithischia |
| Clade: | †Ornithopoda |
| Clade: | †Iguanodontia |
| Genus: | †Tenontosaurus Ostrom, 1970 |
| Species | |
The genus is known from the late Aptian to Albian ages of the Early Cretaceous period sediments of western North America, dating between 115 and 108 million years ago. It contains two species, Tenontosaurus tilletti (described by John Ostrom in 1970) and Tenontosaurus dossi (described by Winkler, Murry, and Jacobs in 1997). Many specimens of T. tilletti have been collected from several geological formations throughout western North America. T. dossi is known from only a handful of specimens collected from the Twin Mountains Formation of Parker County, Texas.