Dracopelta

Say it like this: “drak-o-PEL-ta”

Dracopelta zbyszewskii

Dracopelta ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in Portugal.

Quiz me on Dracopelta

When: Late Jurassic (Tithonian) · roughly 149.2 to 143.1 million years ago
Named in: 1980 · Galton, P. M.
Hip height: 0.7 m · 2 ft
Length: 3 m · 10 ft
Weight: 300 kg · 661 lb
Found in: Portugal · Lourinhã
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: armored dinosaur · Ankylosaur
Family branch: Nodosauridae

The story in short

Dracopelta was formally named in 1980 by P. M. Galton.

It lived in the Late Jurassic (Tithonian), roughly 149.2 to 143.1 million years ago. Finds come from Portugal, including the Lourinhã Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Dracopelta at a length near 3 m, hips about 0.7 m high, and a body mass around 300 kg.

On the family tree it sits in Nodosauridae, among the armored dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Acantholipan

Acantholipan gonzalezi

Late Cretaceous (Santonian) · roughly 85.7 to 83.6 million years ago

Animantarx

Animantarx ramaljonesi

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) · roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago

Anoplosaurus

Anoplosaurus curtonotus

Early Cretaceous (Albian) · roughly 113.2 to 100.5 million years ago