Very HardSauropelta
Sauropelta edwardsorum
SORE-oh-PEL-tah· “lizard shield”
🦕 Dinosaur🕰️ Cretaceous🌿 herbivore🦴 Nodosauridae
5.5 m
Length
1.7 m
Height
1.5 t
Weight
An armoured nodosaur studded with bony plates and rows of tall spikes along its neck and shoulders, but with no tail club. It grazed low plants across Early Cretaceous North America, relying on that spiky armour for defence.
When
Early Cretaceous, ~115 million years ago
Found in
United States
Discovered
John Ostrom, 1970
Did you know?
- Bore rows of large defensive spikes over its neck and shoulders.
- A nodosaur — armoured, but lacking the ankylosaurid tail club.
- Its heavy tail made up roughly half its total length.
Artwork: Emily Willoughby, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.