Dongyangopelta
Dongyangopelta was an armoured dinosaur that lived in what is now China. It had a bony shield on its hips made of fused lumps of bone, and its back was covered with spikes and plates.1
When did it live?
How fast was it?
Fun facts
Dongyangopelta is one of the only nodosaurid armoured dinosaurs known from Asia, along with Taohelong and Sauroplites.1
Its name means 'Dongyang shield' because it was found near Dongyang City in China and had a shield of fused bones on its hips.1
The pelvic shield of Dongyangopelta was made of many fused bony bumps called osteoderms, arranged in a rosette pattern with larger bumps in the middle.1
Its thigh bone (femur) was 46 centimetres (18.1 inches) long, straight and strong, with a distinct head separated from the greater trochanter.1
Dongyangopelta had thin triangular plates on its body that ranged from 10 to 35 centimetres (3.9 to 13.8 inches) long.1
The fossil was discovered in October 2009 by Zhiwei Yang in a hillside near Yangyan Village, Zhejiang Province, China.1
Dongyangopelta lived during the Early to Late Cretaceous period, about 105 to 96 million years ago.1
Most asked questions about Dongyangopelta
?How big was Dongyangopelta?
Scientists do not know its full size yet, but its thigh bone (femur) was 46 centimetres (18.1 inches) long, and its triangular back plates ranged from 10 to 35 centimetres (3.9 to 13.8 inches) long.1
?What did Dongyangopelta eat?
Dongyangopelta was a plant-eater. As a nodosaurid ankylosaur, it ate low-growing plants like ferns and cycads.1
?When did Dongyangopelta live?
Dongyangopelta lived during the Early to Late Cretaceous period, about 105 to 96 million years ago.1
?Where was Dongyangopelta found?
Its fossil was discovered in October 2009 by Zhiwei Yang in a hillside near Yangyan Village, Dongyang City, Zhejiang Province, China.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Dongyangopelta
- Named by
- Chen et al. 20133
- Group
- Armoured dinos
- Family / clade
- Nodosauridae3
- Classification
- Ornithischia > Ankylosauria > Nodosauridae > Thyreophora3
- Age of the rocks
- 113 to 94 million years (Albian / Cenomanian)3
- Rock formations
- Chaochuan3
- Countries
- China3
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- Dongyangopelta was named in 2013 by Chen Rongjun and colleagues. The fossil was found in 2009 by Zhiwei Yang in Zhejiang, China, and dug up by a team of scientists from several museums.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly how Dongyangopelta is related to other nodosaurids. Some studies place it close to Zhejiangosaurus, others put it near Sauroplites and Taohelong.1
Where the facts come from
- Dongyangopelta (en.wikipedia.org)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Dongyangopelta in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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