Antarctopelta

An-tarc-toe-pel-tah.
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Harper Gray

Paleoartist

Harper Grey combines artistic talent with scientific precision to bring extinct creatures and environments back to life. Collaborating closely with paleontologists

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Name

Antarctopelta ‭(‬Antarctic shield‭).

Phonetic

An-tarc-toe-pel-tah.

Named By

Leonardo Salgado‭ & ‬Zulma Gasparini‭ ‬-‭ ‬2006.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Ornithischia,‭ ‬Thyreophora,‭ ‬Ankylosauria,‭ ‬Nodosauridae.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

A.‭ ‬oliveroi‭

Size

Up to‭ ‬4‭ ‬meters long.

Known locations

Antarctica‭ ‬-‭ ‬Santa Marta Formation.

Time Period

Campanian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Skull fragments,‭ ‬teeth and partial post cranial remains,‭ ‬though many of these have been damaged by environmental conditions.

In Depth

       Antarctopelta is the first armoured dinosaur known to have lived in Antarctica,‭ ‬though it should be pointed out that when Antarctopelta lived there,‭ ‬Antarctica was not covered in snow and ice.‭ ‬Antarctopelta‭ ‬was a kind of dinosaur called a nodosaur which means that in life it would have had a squat quadrupedal profile.‭ ‬The back and sides of Antarctopelta‭ ‬would‭ ‬have been protected by a covering of bony armour called ostederms as well as possibly some spikes so that the teeth‭ ‬of predatory dinosaurs could not get through.‭ ‬This was a similar survival strategy as that used by the closely related ankylosaurids,‭ ‬but as a nodosaur,‭ ‬Antarctopelta would have lacked a tail club.

       Antarctopelta likely shared its habitat with ornithopod dinosaurs like Trinisaura.

Further Reading

– Reappraisal of an ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of James Ross Island‭ (‬Antarctica‭)‬,‭ ‬Leonardo Salgado‭ & ‬Zulma Gasparini‭ ‬-‭ ‬2006.

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