Name:
Edmontonia ("from Edmonton"); pronounced ED-mon-TONE-ee-ah
Habitat:
Woodlands of North America
Historical Period:
Late Cretaceous (75-65 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 20 feet long and 3 tons
Diet:
Plants
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Low-slung body; sharp spikes on shoulders
About Edmontonia:
Edmonton in Canada is one of the few cities with two dinosaurs named after it--the duck-billed herbivore Edmontosaurus, and the armored nodosaur Edmontonia. However, you should bear in mind that Edmontonia was named after the "Edmonton Formation" where it was found; there's no evidence that it actually lived in the environs of Edmonton itself.
Edmontonia was a formidable plant-eater, with its bulky, low-slung body, armored plating along its back, and--most intimidatingly--the sharp spikes jutting out from its shoulders, which may have been used to deter predators or to fight other males for the right to mate. Some paleontologists also think Edmontonia was capable of producing honking sounds, which would truly make it the SUV of nodosaurs.
