Jinyunpelta

Say it like this: “JIN-yun-PEL-tuh”

Jinyunpelta sinensis

Jinyunpelta ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in China.

Quiz me on Jinyunpelta

When: Early Cretaceous (Albian) · roughly 113.2 to 100.5 million years ago
Named in: 2018 · Zheng, W.; Jin, X.; Azuma, Y.; Wang, Q.; Miyata, K.; Xu, X.
Hip height: 1 m · 3 ft
Length: 4.3 m · 14 ft
Weight: 700 kg · 1,543 lb
Found in: China · Liangtoutang
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: armored dinosaur · Ankylosaur
Family branch: Ankylosaurinae

The story in short

In 2018, W. Zheng and colleagues published the name Jinyunpelta. The name means “jinyun shield.”

It lived in the Early Cretaceous (Albian), roughly 113.2 to 100.5 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Liangtoutang Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Jinyunpelta at a length near 4.3 m, hips about 1 m high, and a body mass around 700 kg.

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

Close relatives

Akainacephalus

Akainacephalus johnsoni

Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago

Ankylosaurus

Ankylosaurus magniventris

Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago

Anodontosaurus

Anodontosaurus lambei

Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian) · roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago