Dracopelta

Dracopelta (meaning "dragon shield") is a monospecific genus of ankylosaurian dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic (uppermost lower Tithonian-upper Tithonian, 152.1-145.0 Ma) in what is now the Lourinhã Formation, Portugal. The type and only species is Dracopelta zbyszewskii, which is represented by a partial skeleton including unpublished material.

== Discovery and naming == thumb|left|Lourinhã Formation in Portugal In 1963 or, more likely, early 1964, a partial skeleton was discovered during road construction works between the village of Barril and Praia da Assenta. Leonel Trindade confirmed the presence of the fossil in the area and photographed the specimen in situ. Georges Zbyszewski and Octávio da Veiga Ferreir organized the excavation and extraction of the specimen in December 1964. Parts of the specimen were unprepared and misplaced, mixed in with a specimen of Miragaia. The holotype specimen, MG 3 (formerly IGM 5787 and IGM 3), consists of dorsal vertebrae, articulated proximal ribs, osteoderms, an incomplete autopodium and unpublished material including a tibia, femur, and an ossified tendon. Currently new material pertaining to the holotype specimen is being described. The generic name, Dracopelta, is derived from the Latin word draco (dragon) and the Greek word πέλτη, pelte, (Latinised to pelta), "small shield". The specific name, zbyszewskii, honours Georges Zbyszewski, after his research on fossil vertebrates from Portugal.