Genus
Valid Extinct

Echinodon

Owen 1861
Etymology Dent épineuse

Echinodon is a genus of heterodontosaurid dinosaur that lived during the earliest Cretaceous of southern England and possibly western France in the Berriasian epoch. The first specimens were jaw bones named Echinodon becklesii by Sir Richard Owen in 1861, and since their original description only additional teeth have been discovered. The specific name honours collector Samuel Beckles who discovered the material of Echinodon and many other taxa from across England, while the genus name translates as "prickly tooth" in reference to the dental anatomy of the taxon.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
6
Group
Dinosaures
Herbivore Ground dwelling, gregarious Terrestrial
Echinodon
click to enlarge
Dentary of Echinodon becklesii from the Lower Cretaceous Purbeck Formation of England. Left dentary (NHMUK 48215b) in lateral (A), medial (B), and dorsal (C) views. © Paul C. Sereno · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
›
Ornithischia Unranked clade
›
Parapredentata Unranked clade
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Saphornithischia Unranked clade
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Prionodontia Unranked clade
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Heterodontosauridae Family
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Echinodon Genus
Measurements
Length
0,65 m ⓘ
Echinodon becklesii 
Mass
0,3 kg ⓘ
Echinodon becklesii 
Fossil sites 6 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
4
🇺🇸 United States
1
🇫🇷 France
1
Geological formations
Lulworth
4
Morrison
1
Temporal distribution
Berriasian (143.1–137.05 Ma)
5
Tithonian (149.2–143.1 Ma)
1
Species (1)
Echinodon becklesii 143 Ma
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
R. Owen. 1861. Monograph on the fossil Reptilia of the Wealden and Purbeck formations. Part V. Lacertilia (Nuthetes, etc.). [Purbeck]. The Palaeontological Society, London 1858:31-39
Bibliography (5)
R. Allain, R. Vullo, and L. Rozada, J. Anquetin, R. Bourgeais, J. Goedert, M. Lasseron, J. E. Martin, A. Pérez-García, C. Peyre De Fabrègues, R. Royo-Torres, D. Augier, G. Bailly, L. Cazes, Y. Despres, A. Gailliègue, B. Gomez, F. Goussard, T. Lenglet, R. Vacant, Mazan, J.-F. Tour. 2022. Vertebrate paleobiodiversity of the Early Cretaceous (Berriasian) Angeac-Charente Lagerstätte (southwestern France): implications for continental faunal turnover at the J/K boundary. Geodiversitas 44(25):683-752 DOI ↗
D. B. Norman and P. M. Barrett. 2002. Ornithischian dinosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous (Berriasian) of England. Special Papers in Palaeontology 68:161-189
R. G. Young. 1991. A dinosaur nest in the Jurassic Morrison Formation, western Colorado. Guidebook for Dinosaur Quarries and Tracksites Tour, Western Colorado and Eastern Utah
P. C. Ensom. 1988. Excavations at Sunnydown Farm, Langton Matravers, Dorset: amphibians discovered in the Purbeck Limestone Formation. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society 109:148-150
R. Owen. 1861. Monograph on the fossil Reptilia of the Wealden and Purbeck formations. Part V. Lacertilia (Nuthetes, etc.). [Purbeck]. The Palaeontological Society, London 1858:31-39