Name:
Antarctopelta (Greek for "Antarctic shield"); pronounced ant-ARK-toe-PELL-tah
Habitat:
Woodlands of Antarctica
Historical Period:
Middle Cretaceous (100-95 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 13 feet long; weight unknown
Diet:
Plants
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Squat, armored body; large teeth
About Antarctopelta:
The bones of this ankylosaur (armored dinosaur) were dug up on Antarctica's James Ross Island in 1986, but it wasn’t until 20 years later that the genus was named and identified. So far, Antarctopelta is only the second dinosaur (and the first ankylosaur) known to have lived in Antarctica during the Cretaceous period (the other being the two-legged theropod Cryolophosaurus), but this wasn’t because of harsh conditions: 100 million years ago, Antarctica was a lush, humid, densely forested land mass, not the icebox it is today.
