Nodosaurid armoured dinosaur

Sauropelta

This is Sauropelta, a plant-eating armoured dinosaur from Early Cretaceous North America.

Look at the bony armour on its back and the big spikes by its shoulders. Does it look as though it is wearing a strong protective coat?

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Meet this animal

When it lived: Early Cretaceous (about 115–105 million years ago)
Fossil discovery regions: western North America
Size: 5–6 metres
Diet: Plant-eater
Classification: Nodosaurid armoured dinosaur

Sauropelta was a nodosaurid, a kind of armoured dinosaur without a tail club. Bony armour covered its low body, and large spikes stood out along its neck and shoulders. In life, the spikes may also have had keratin coverings, making their outline more complex than the bare fossils alone can show.

Scientific sources

Reconstruction and uncertainty

The 5–6 metre figure is an approximate adult length range for family reading; it does not tie the current model to one specimen.
The model’s armour arrangement, the length of its keratin coverings, its colour and other soft tissues are cautious artistic reconstructions.
The label stays at the genus level, Sauropelta, without making a species-level claim. The display name and shoulder spikes have been checked for this exhibition.

Meet this animal

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