Name:
Aletopelta (Greek for "wandering shield"); pronounced ah-LEE-toe-PELL-ta
Habitat:
Woodlands of southern North America
Historical Period:
Late Cretaceous (80-70 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 20 feet long and one ton
Diet:
Plants
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Low-slung body; spikes on shoulders; clubbed tail
About Aletopelta:
There's an interesting story behind the name Aletopelta, Greek for "wandering shield": although this dinosaur lived in late Cretaceous Mexico, its remains were discovered in modern-day California, the result of continental drift over tens of millions of years. We know that Aletopelta was a true ankylosaur thanks to its thick armor plating (including two dangerous-looking spikes jutting up from its shoulders) and clubbed tail, but otherwise this low-slung herbivore resembled a nodosaur, a sleeker, more lightly built, and (if possible) even slower subfamily of the ankylosaurs.
