Sauropelta
Sign in to saveSauropelta ( ; meaning 'lizard shield') is a genus of nodosaurid dinosaur that existed in the Early Cretaceous Period of North America. One species (S. edwardsorum) has been named. Anatomically, Sauropelta is one of the most well-understood nodosaurids, with fossilized remains recovered in the U.S. states of Wyoming, Montana, and possibly Utah. It is also the earliest known genus of nodosaurine; most of its remains are found in a section of the Cloverly Formation dated to 108.5 million years ago.
Article
8 sectionsContents
- Description
- Classification and systematics
- Discovery and naming
- Footprint discoveries
- Paleoecology
- See also
- References
- External links
Sauropelta ( ; meaning 'lizard shield') is a genus of nodosaurid dinosaur that existed in the Early Cretaceous Period of North America. One species (S. edwardsorum) has been named. Anatomically, Sauropelta is one of the most well-understood nodosaurids, with fossilized remains recovered in the U.S. states of Wyoming, Montana, and possibly Utah. It is also the earliest known genus of nodosaurine; most of its remains are found in a section of the Cloverly Formation dated to 108.5 million years ago.
Sauropelta is a medium-sized nodosaurid, measuring about long. Sauropelta had a distinctively long tail which made up about half of its body length. Although its body was smaller than a modern black rhinoceros, Sauropelta was about the same mass, weighing up to about . The extra weight was largely due to its extensive covering of bony armor, including the characteristically large spines projecting from its neck.