In Depth Panoplosaurus is one of the more famous of the North American nodosaurs, and a genus that lived during the later stages of the Cretaceous. Like with other nodosaurs, Panoplosaurus would have looked similar to an ankylosaur, though with a few key differences. The most obvious difference at a glance would have been the … Read more
In Depth Sauropelta is one of the better known nodosaurids, armoured dinosaurs that are thought to be ancestral to the later and more heavily armoured ankylosaurids. This armour was in the form of lots of osteoderms (bony plates that are held within the skin that are also sometimes called scutes) that varied greatly in size … Read more
In Depth Named only from armoured plates, Glyptodontopelta is a genus of nodosaur that lived in North America during the late Cretaceous. The name Glyptodontopelta means ‘Glyptodon shield’, a reference to its similarity to the armour of the genus Glyptodon, a large ground dwelling xenarthran mammal that lived much later in South America during the … Read more
In Depth Several hundred bones from an estimated four individuals have been attributed to this genus, and together they make up the best represented European genus of nodosaurid dinosaur. Like its nodosaurid relatives, Hungarosaurus was an armoured quadrupedal dinosaur that would have browsed upon low growing vegetation. The armour would have been an arrangement of … Read more
In Depth Once considered a possible nodosaurid, Aletopelta was confirmed as an ankylosaurid when it was formally described in 2001. This interpretation came about mainly from study of the osteoderm armour which is more like the armour of known ankylosaurs and less like that of nodosaurs. By extension Aletopelta would be assumed to have had … Read more