Aletopelta
Extinct genus of dinosaurs / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Aletopelta | |
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Holotype specimen on display at the San Diego Natural History Museum, California. | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | †Ornithischia |
Clade: | †Thyreophora |
Clade: | †Ankylosauria |
Clade: | †Euankylosauria |
Genus: | †Aletopelta Ford & Kirkland, 2001 |
Species: | †A. coombsi |
Binomial name | |
†Aletopelta coombsi Ford & Kirkland, 2001 | |
Aletopelta (/əˌliːtoʊˈpɛltə ˈkoʊmzi/; meaning 'wanderer shield') is a monospecific genus of basal ankylosaurid dinosaur from Southern California that lived during the Late Cretaceous (upper Campanian stage, 75.5 Ma) in what is now the Point Loma Formation. The type and only species, Aletopelta coombsi, is known from a partial skeleton preserving osteoderms. It was originally described in 1996 by W. P. Coombs, Jr. and T.A. Deméré before being named in 2001 by Tracy Ford and James Kirkland. Aletopelta has an estimated size of 5 metres (16 feet) and weight of 2 tonnes (4,409 lbs). The holotype formed a miniature reef and was scavenged upon by invertebrates and sharks.