Aletopelta
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Extinct (fossil)
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| Aletopelta coombsi Kirkland & Ford, 2001 |
Aletopelta coombsi (IPA: /əˌlitəˈpɛltə ˈkoʊmzi/) was an ankylosaurian ornithischian dinosaur whose fossils were found in Southern California. Etimologically, the generic name is composed of the Greek terms aletes and pelte, meaning, respectively "wandering" and "shield". This genus name was suggested by Ben Creisler due to the fact that the fossil location, at the time the dinosaur died, being located on the tectonic plate containing the Peninsular Ranges Terrane, was somewhere opposite the middle of Mexico. This plate had thus been wandering northward, carrying the specimen with it. The specific epithet honors the vertebrate paleontologist Walter P. Coombs, Jr., for his ground-breaking work on ankylosaurs and his years of research, which have inspired many an enthusiast as well as professional paleontologist.
Aletopelta is a medium-sized ankylosaurid, estimated to be around 6 m (20 ft) long, and known from a partial skeleton (Holotype: SDNHM 33909 (San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego, California). The skeleton including femora, tibiae, fibulae and incomplete parts of a scapula, humerus, ulna, left and right ischium, vertebrae, ribs, partial armor over the pelvic girdle plus at least 60 detached armor plates and 8 teeth was found in the Late Cretaceous (Upper Campanian) marine Point Loma Formation, near Carlsbad, California. Apparently the animal's bloated carcass floated out to sea and formed a miniature reef environment after it sunk to the bottom. Aletopelta is diagnosed as an ankylosaurid mainly based on the shape and arrangement of its osteoderm armor, which is closer in form to ankylosaurids than to nodosaurids.
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