Ziapelta

Say it like this: “zee-uh-PEL-tuh”

Ziapelta sanjuanensis

Ziapelta ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in the United States.

Quiz me on Ziapelta

When: Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Named in: 2014 · Arbour, V. M.; Burns, M. E.; Sullivan, R. M.; Lucas, S. G.; Cantrell, A. K.; Fry, J.; Suazo, T. L.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 5 m · 16 ft
Weight: 2 tonnes
Found in: the United States · Kirtland
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: armored dinosaur · Ankylosaur
Family branch: Ankylosaurinae

The story in short

The genus Ziapelta dates to 2014, the year V. M. Arbour and colleagues described it. The name means “small shield.”

Fossils referred to Ziapelta date to the Late Cretaceous (Campanian), roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Kirtland Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Ziapelta at a length near 5 m and a body mass around 2 tonnes.

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