Dino card No. 0290 of 2,027

Borealopelta

Say it: BOR-ee-oh-PEL-ta

Name means: “northern shield”1

Ate: PlantsArmoured dinosEarly Cretaceous

Borealopelta was a heavily armoured dinosaur that looked like a living tank. It had huge spikes on its shoulders and a body covered in bony plates and scales. Scientists even know what colour it was: reddish-brown on top and lighter underneath, like a deer today.1

Lived

121 to 113 million years ago5

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Suncor Millennium Mine, Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada5

Food

Plants5

Length

5.5 m2

estimated

Weight

1.3 tonnes2

Height

1 m3

hip height

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How tall was it?

hip height

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 43 big dogs

as long as 6 dogs nose to tailas long as 31 bananas end to endas heavy as 260 watermelonsup to the handle of a door

How big was Borealopelta compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Borealopelta is one of the best-preserved armoured dinosaurs ever found. Its fossil includes skin, scales, and even the horn sheaths on its spikes.1

This dinosaur had countershading: its back was reddish-brown and its belly was lighter. This helped it hide from predators.1

The largest spikes on its shoulders were probably used for display, not just defence. They were lighter in colour and covered in a thick horn sheath.1

Borealopelta weighed over 1,300 kilograms, as much as a small rhinoceros. Despite its size and armour, it still needed camouflage from big meat-eating dinosaurs.2

It lived about 121 to 113 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period, in what is now Alberta, Canada.5

The fossil was found in an oil sands mine. It was so well preserved that scientists could study the melanin in its skin to figure out its colour.1

Borealopelta had more than 20 small bony plates on its snout and a large hexagonal plate on its forehead.1

AI-made picture of Borealopelta — An AI-made picture of how Borealopelta might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Borealopelta

?How big was Borealopelta?

About 5.5 metres long and weighed 1.3 metric tons.4

?What did Borealopelta eat?

It ate plants, especially ferns. Its last meal was mostly ferns, and it also swallowed a little bit of charcoal from a wildfire.4

?Did Borealopelta have a tail club?

No, it had a straight tail without a club, unlike some other armoured dinosaurs.4

?Why did Borealopelta have spikes?

The big shoulder spikes were probably used for display to attract mates or scare rivals, but they could also help defend against predators.4 1

?Was Borealopelta camouflaged?

Yes, it had countershading: a reddish-brown back and a lighter belly, which helped it hide from predators.4 1

?When did Borealopelta live?

It lived about 110 to 112 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period.4

?Where was Borealopelta found?

It was discovered in an oil sands mine near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada.4

?How well preserved is Borealopelta?

It is one of the best-preserved armoured dinosaurs ever found, with skin, scales, horn sheaths, and even stomach contents still intact.4 1

?Could Borealopelta swim?

It probably could not swim well. Its body was found in ancient sea sediments, so it likely drowned and sank after being washed out to sea.4

?What colour was Borealopelta?

It was reddish-brown on top and lighter underneath, like a deer today. Scientists found melanin in its skin to figure this out.4 1

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Myth buster

Myth: Many people think all armoured dinosaurs were slow and clumsy.

Truth: Borealopelta was heavily armoured but its legs were built for walking and it could probably move quickly when needed. Its camouflage shows it was an active prey animal.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Borealopelta
Named by: Brown et al. 20175
Group: Armoured dinos
Family / clade: Nodosauridae5
Classification: Ornithischia > Ankylosauria > Nodosauridae > Thyreophora5
Age of the rocks: 121 to 113 million years (Aptian)5
Rock formations: Clearwater5
Countries: Canada5
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database5
Discovery: Borealopelta was discovered in 2011 at the Suncor Millennium Mine in Alberta, Canada, by miners removing overburden. It was named by Caleb Brown and colleagues in 2017.1 5
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how many different kinds of nodosaurids existed, and whether Borealopelta's shoulder spikes were mainly for fighting rivals or scaring predators.1

Where the facts come from

An Exceptionally Preserved Three-Dimensional Armored Dinosaur Reveals Insights into Coloration and Cretaceous Predator-Prey Dynamics: Current Biology (cell.com)
An Exceptionally Preserved Three-Dimensional Armored Dinosaur Reveals Insights into Coloration and Cretaceous Predator-Prey Dynamics (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
BOREALOPELTA - DinoChecker dinosaur archive (dinochecker.com)
Borealopelta (en.wikipedia.org)
Borealopelta in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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