Sauropelta
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Extinct (fossil)
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| Sauropelta edwardsorum Ostrom, 1970 |
Sauropelta (Ostrom, 1970) is an nodosaurid ankylosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Period of what are now Wyoming and Montana, USA. The holotype specimen (AMNH 3036) was collected by famed dinosaur hunter and paleontologist Barnum Brown from exposures of Cloverly Formation (late Aptian) along Mott Creek on the Crow Indian Reservation in south-central Montana. Brown's specimen is one of the best preserved and most complete nodosaurid skeletons presently known and is on display in the American Museum of Natural History. At this time, two species of Sauropelta have been reported: the type species, S. edwardsorum (Ostrom, 1970) and a second, as yet undescribed species from the Middle Cedar Mountain Formation (?Aptian) of Utah (Vickaryous et al. 2004). The name Sauropelta (Greek sauros meaning 'lizard' and pelte meaning 'shield') means 'shield lizard', a reference to its bony armor.
Sauropelta had an estimated body length of 5 meters, and its skull measured approximately 35 cm. in width. The rostral region of the only known skull is missing, so an accurate estimate of skull length can't be made. Articulated in situ osteoderms are known for this taxon, allowing for a more accurate reconstruction of its appearance in life. Vickaryous et al. (2004) write that, "The cervical armor includes three sets of co-ossfied osteoderms, all of which have prominent keels and points..." These authors also note that Sauropelta may be recognized by it long tail, which includes a minimum of 40 caudal vertebrae, and state that "Sauropelta edwardsorum, Silvisaurus condrayi, and Pawpawsaurus campbelli form a basal polytomy nested deep to Cedarpelta."
[edit] References
- Ostrom, J. H. 1970. Stratigraphy and paleontology of the Cloverly Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of the Bighorn Basin area, Wyoming and Montana. Peabody Museum Bulletin 35:1-234
- Vickaryous, Maryanska, and Weishampel 2004. Chapter Seventeen: Ankylosauria. in The Dinosauria (2nd edition), Weishampel, D. B., Dodson, P., and Osmólska, H., editors. University of California Press.
