Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
279 / Mesozoic
Sauropelta
Sauropelta edwardsorum
Long shoulder spikes and dense armor protected one of the largest nodosaurids.
View original image · 1536 × 1024- Time range
- About 115–108 million years ago
- Final stage
- Early Cretaceous
- Geographic range
- River forests and open plains · North America
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Sauropelta?
Sauropelta (Sauropelta edwardsorum) was an extinct organism known from About 115–108 million years ago, with a range in River forests and open plains · North America.
Life and ecology
Sauropelta was a low-browsing herbivore with a narrow head, broad body and flexible tail, relying on armor rather than a tail club.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Sauropelta disappear?
Cretaceous changes in habitats and armored-dinosaur faunas are possible context, not a demonstrated cause of its disappearance.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Sauropelta?
Associated skeletons and armor preserve the neck rings, shoulder spikes and limb proportions.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS