Europelta
"Europe"
- Length
- 5 m (16.4 ft)
- Period
- Early Cretaceous (113 Mya)
- Place
- Europe · Spain
- Food
- Herbivore
- Clade
- Nodosauridae Dinosauria Ornithischia Thyreophora Ankylosauria Ankylosaurs without the tail club.
Europelta (meaning “Europe’s shield”) is a monospecific genus of nodosaurid dinosaur from Spain that lived during the Early Cretaceous (early Albian stage, ~113.0 Ma) in what is now the lower Escucha Formation of the Teruel Province. The type and only species, Europelta carbonensis, is known from two associated partial skeletons, and represents the most complete ankylosaur known from Europe. Europelta was named in 2013 by James I. Kirkland and colleagues. Europelta has an estimated length of 5 metres (16 feet) and weight of 1.3 tonnes (2,866 lbs), making it the largest member of the clade Struthiosaurini.
What we know
- Named by Kirkland et al., 2013.
- Fossils found in Europe and Spain.
What we guess
The reconstruction notes for Europelta — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.