Aletopelta

Ah-let-o-pel-tah.
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Liam Carter

Paleoanthropologist

Liam Carter explores the roots of humanity by studying early human fossils and artifacts. His ground-breaking work has provided a deeper understanding of our ancestors' lifestyles and social structures.

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Name

Aletopelta ‭(‬Wandering shield‭)‬.

Phonetic

Ah-let-o-pel-tah.

Named By

T.‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Ford‭ ‬-‭ ‬J I Kirkland‭ ‬-‭ ‬2001.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Ornithischia,‭ ‬Ankylosauria,‭ ‬Ankylosauridae.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

A.‭ ‬coombsi‭

Size

About‭ ‬6‭ ‬meters long.

Known locations

USA,‭ ‬California‭ ‬-‭ ‬Point Loma Formation.

Time Period

Campanian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Partial post cranial remains and eight teeth.

In Depth

       Once considered a possible nodosaurid,‭ ‬Aletopelta was confirmed as an ankylosaurid when it was formally described in‭ ‬2001.‭ ‬This interpretation came about mainly from study of the osteoderm armour which is more like the armour of known ankylosaurs and less like that of nodosaurs.‭ ‬By extension Aletopelta would be assumed to have had a broader skull as well as a bony club on the end of the tail like in relative genera,‭ ‬though in Aletopelta these have so far not known to have been preserved.

       The name Aletopelta means‭ ‘‬wandering shield‭’ ‬a reference to the fact that the Aletopelta holotype remains have actually travelled a long way since they first came to rest.‭ ‬The holotype remains of Aletopelta were located on the Peninsular Ranges Terrane,‭ ‬and accounting for seventy million years‭’ ‬worth of continental drift Aletopelta would have actually lived much closer to what is now Mexico during the Cretaceous.‭ ‬In addition to this the holotype remains have been interpreted as being washed out‭ ‬to‭ ‬sea shortly after the animal died,‭ ‬perhaps with flood waters or a storm surge.‭ ‬When they finally settled on the bottom,‭ ‬they seem to‭ ‬have formed the basis for a miniature reef.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬Carlsbad ankylosaur‭ (‬Ornithischia,‭ ‬Ankylosauria‭)‬:‭ ‬an ankylosaurid and not a nodosaurid.‭ ‬-‭ ‬The Armored Dinosaurs.‭ ‬Indiana University Press,‭ ‬Bloomington‭ ‬239-260.‭ ‬-‭ ‬T.‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Ford‭ ‬-‭ ‬J I Kirkland‭ ‬-‭ ‬2001.

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