Gastonia burgei

† Gastonia burgei — an Early Cretaceous polacanthid ankylosaur from Utah's Yellow Cat Member. Medium-sized herbivore (~5–6 m long, ~2,000 kg). Named for paleontologist Robert Gaston. Heavily armored with shoulder spikes, lateral spines, and dense osteoderms. Cedar Mountain Formation; Barremian age.

Diet & Feeding

Herbivore

Gastonia burgei was a plant-eating dinosaur. Herbivores typically fed on ferns, cycads, conifers, and other vegetation available during their era. Many herbivorous dinosaurs developed specialized teeth and digestive systems for processing tough plant material.

Time Period

Cretaceous Early Mesozoic Era

Gastonia burgei lived during the Cretaceous Early period of the Mesozoic Era, approximately 145.0 to 100.5 million years ago.

The Cretaceous saw continued dinosaur evolution with the rise of ornithopods and early ceratopsians. Flowering plants first appeared and began to transform terrestrial ecosystems. Spinosaurus and other large theropods lived during this time.