Omnisaura
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Dinosaur genus

Gastonia

Kirkland 1998

Gastonia is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 137.1–100.5 million years old, in the United States.

Confidence labels
How sure are we?2 high6 medium1 lowHow we rate confidence

Confidence labels are switched off. Facts with low confidence, or where sources disagree, still carry a small dot: tap it for the reason.

At a glance

Data as of 12 October 2026
137.1–100.5 Ma
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
252 million years ago20114366

The last non-bird dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago. That's as far from us as the end of this bar.

Named by
Kirkland 1998
highhigh: PBDB and Wikidata agree.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Described in
J. I. Kirkland (1998). A polacanthine ankylosaur (Ornithischia: Dinosauria) from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) of eastern Utah. Lower and Middle Cretaceous Terrestrial Ecosystems (S. G. Lucas, J. I. Kirkland, & J. W. Estep, eds.), New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 14: 271–281.
highhigh: PBDB gives this publication for the name; its author and year match the naming authority (Kirkland 1998), on which PBDB and Wikidata agree.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. The publication the Paleobiology Database gives as the authority for this genus name, usually the one that first named and described it.

Lived
Valanginian to Albian, 137.1–100.5 million years ago
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Omnisaura calculation137.1–100.5 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
mediummedium: Omnisaura's calculation from 3 confirmed PBDB records.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Fossils found in
United States
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).

Rock formations
Cedar Mountain
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.

Family
Nodosauridae
disputedlow: Sources disagree and an editor has not ruled yet.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Parent group
Nodosauridae
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Order
Apiales
mediummedium: Only NHM gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Gap filled from NHM.

Known from
Bones
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).

Sources: Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0), Natural History Museum Data Portal (CC0 1.0), Wikidata (CC0 1.0)Confidence levels and gaps are Omnisaura's own assessment.

Gaps are answers

What isn't known yet

  • Type species: no source we use gives it yet.
  • Common names: no source we use gives it yet.
  • What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
  • Resting on one source: 3 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): parent group (PBDB); order (NHM); age (headline) (PBDB).

Size, diet and behaviour aren't covered yet. Omnisaura leaves them out rather than guess.

Where sources disagree

2 open

Family

  • NodosauridaePBDB (shown above)
  • AraliaceaeNHM

The sources give different values. An editor hasn't ruled yet, so this is rated low until they do.

Countries

  • NonePBDB
  • Papua New GuineaNHM

One source records a country the other does not. An editor hasn't ruled yet, so this is rated low until they do.

Did it meet…?

?

No. Gastonia had gone at least 16.9 million years before Tyrannosaurus appears in the fossil record.

Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.

Lived alongside

Genera found in the same rock formations, from rocks of the same age.

UtahraptorCedarosaurusFalcariusIguanacolossusNedcolbertiaAnimantarxBrontomerusBrontopodusCedarpeltaCedrorestesDeinonychusDromaeosauripusEolambiaIrenesauripusMoabosaurusTetrapodosaurusand 1 more

Same family

Other genera in Nodosauridae with a full profile.

AcantholipanAnimantarxAnoplosaurusBorealopeltaEdmontoniaGlyptodontopeltaHoplitosaurusHungarosaurusHylaeosaurusNiobrarasaurusNodosaurusPanoplosaurusPolacanthusSauropeltaSilvisaurusStruthiosaurusand 1 more

Credits

Where this page comes from

  • Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
  • Natural History Museum Data PortalCC0 1.0 · catalogued specimens
  • WikidataCC0 1.0 · names and identifiers
  • OmnisauraOmnisaura editorial · confidence levels and gaps
  • PaleoMAP PaleoCoastlines (Kocsis and Scotese 2021)CC BY 4.0 · ancient coastlines on the small map
  • Natural EarthPublic domain · today's coastlines

Pictures linked from this page are credited beside each one, with their own licences; the full list is in the JSON download.