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armored dinosaur
Stegopelta
Say it like this: “STEG-o-PEL-tuh”
Stegopelta landerensis
Stegopelta ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in the United States.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) · roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago
- Named in
- 1905 · Williston, S. W.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- 4 m · 13 ft
- Weight
- 1 tonnes
- Found in
- the United States · Frontier
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Four legs
- Kind
- armored dinosaur · Ankylosaur
- Family branch
- Nodosauridae
The story in short
Stegopelta was formally named in 1905 by S. W. Williston. The name means “roofed shield.”
Fossils referred to Stegopelta date to the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian), roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Frontier Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.
Published estimates put Stegopelta at a length near 4 m and a body mass around 1 tonnes.
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