Sarcolestes is a genus of dinosaurs that lived during the Middle Jurassic period, around 165 million years ago. It is known from fossils found in England, specifically from a place called the Oxford Clay.
The name “Sarcolestes” means “flesh robber,” and it was first named in 1893 by a scientist named Richard Lydekker. The only species in this genus is called Sarcolestes leedsi, named to honor Alfred Nicholson Leeds, who discovered the first known fossil of this dinosaur.
The main fossil of Sarcolestes is a partial jawbone called a mandible, which has some teeth still attached. Unfortunately, this fossil was damaged during its discovery, but it does contain one complete tooth and parts of two others.
At first, scientists thought Sarcolestes belonged to a group of meat-eating dinosaurs called theropods. They noticed that it didn’t have certain features typical of plant-eating dinosaurs, or ornithopods, and its teeth looked different from those of large long-necked dinosaurs called sauropods. In time, however, other researchers studied Sarcolestes and concluded it was actually a plant-eater, placing it with the ankylosaurs, which included well-known dinosaurs like Stegosaurus and Polacanthus.
While some scientists believe Sarcolestes belongs to a group called Nodosauridae, others are uncertain about its classification. What makes Sarcolestes interesting is that it is one of the few ankylosaurian dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic period.
So, Sarcolestes gives us a glimpse into the variety of dinosaurs that roamed the Earth millions of years ago, showcasing the incredible diversity of life during that time.