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.
