Thyreophora

† Thyreophora is the clade of armored ornithischian dinosaurs including stegosaurs and ankylosaurs, with fossil material from Late Cretaceous China. This successful herbivorous lineage persisted from the Early Jurassic until the end-Cretaceous mass extinction.

Diet & Feeding

Herbivore

Thyreophora 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 Late Mesozoic Era

Thyreophora lived during the Cretaceous Late period of the Mesozoic Era, approximately 100.5 to 66.0 million years ago.

The final age of dinosaurs, featuring iconic species like Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, and Velociraptor. Dinosaurs reached their peak diversity before the catastrophic asteroid impact at the Chicxulub crater ended the Mesozoic Era.