Hungarosaurus

Phylogeny: Dinosauria > Ornithischia > Genasauria > Thyreophora > Thyreophoroidea > Eurypoda > Ankylosauria > Euankylosauria > Nodosauridae > Struthiosaurinae

Overview: Hungarosaurus was a medium-sized ankylosaur that once inhabited what is now Eastern Europe, around eighty-five million years ago. Fossils were first recovered in the mid-2000’s, secured from the rocks of Hungary’s Csehbánya Formation. Hungarosaurus, of course, was named after its nation of origin in its 2005 description. Since then, at least three other specimens have been found and described, consisting of most of the animal’s skeleton when put together, making it one of the best understood ankylosaurs ever found in Europe. Among the bones recovered were a myriad of bony scutes, or osteoderms, forming the animal’s dermal armor. This armor covered a large swath of its body, shielding it from all but the most powerful of predators. Only the animal’s underbelly was unshielded. Over its shoulders and neck, Hungarosaurus sported a set of fairly large spines.

Most studies classify Hungarosaurus as a member of the family Nodosauridae, specifically within a tribe of nodosaurids called the Struthiosaurini. Most members of this clade, such as Struthiosaurus itself, are known from Europe. Like other nodosaurids, the struthiosaurins lacked bony tail clubs, but made up for it with their spiked shoulders or sides. Their snouts were usually narrow, which is a potential sign of a more selective diet. Hungarosaurus and its struthiosaurin relatives often possessed slightly longer legs than other nodosaurids, but were usually fairly small. Hungarosaurus, along with Europelta, were decently large. Some restorations of Hungarosaurus depict it as being fairly tall at the shoulders, which were certainly robust based on what we know of the bones there. The region where this dinosaur lived was a fairly humid, swampy island.