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Fun facts
Scientists used CT scans to see hidden bones inside the rock, like two complete teeth and part of the inner ear.12
Nipponopelta belonged to a group called nodosaurids, which had long spikes on their shoulders but no tail club.23
Its ancestors likely walked from North America to Asia across a land bridge called Beringia about 100 million years ago.32
Most asked questions about Nipponopelta
?How big was Nipponopelta?
Scientists do not know its exact size because only a partial skull and a few bones have been found. It was probably similar in size to other nodosaurids, which were medium-sized, four-legged plant-eaters.1
?What did Nipponopelta eat?
It ate plants. Its teeth were small and leaf-shaped, good for cropping vegetation.3
?When did Nipponopelta live?
It lived during the Late Cretaceous period, about 96 to 94 million years ago.5
?Where was Nipponopelta found?
Its fossils were found in Hokkaido, Japan, along the bank of the Omakizawa River in Yūbari city.1
?Did Nipponopelta have a tail club?
No. Nipponopelta was a nodosaurid, and nodosaurids did not have a tail club. Instead, they had long spikes on their shoulders.3
?How did Nipponopelta get to Japan?
Its ancestors likely walked from North America to Asia across a land bridge called Beringia about 100 million years ago.3
?Is Nipponopelta a dinosaur?
Yes, Nipponopelta is a dinosaur. It is a type of armored dinosaur called a nodosaurid ankylosaur.1
?Why is it called Nipponopelta?
Its name means 'Japanese shield' in Greek and Japanese. 'Nippon' means Japan and 'pelta' means shield.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Nipponopelta
- Named by
- Oyabu et al. 20276
- Group
- Armoured dinos
- Family / clade
- Nodosauridae6
- Classification
- Ornithischia > Ankylosauria > Nodosauridae > Thyreophora6
- Age of the rocks
- 100 to 94 million years (Cenomanian)6
- Rock formations
- Hikagenosawa6
- Countries
- Japan6
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database6
- Discovery
- The fossil was found by Eijiro Goto in 1995 in Yūbari, Hokkaido, Japan. In 2026, Shumpei Oyabu and colleagues named it Nipponopelta yezoensis after studying it with CT scans.12
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure if Nipponopelta lived right on the coast or if its body was carried to the sea after death.13
Where the facts come from
- Nipponopelta (en.wikipedia.org)
- 北海道産恐竜化石を「ニッポノペルタ・エゾエンシス」と命名 (hokudai.ac.jp)
- Rare armored dinosaur found in Japan may have ancestors that migrated across a land bridge 100 million years ago | Live Science (livescience.com)
- Nipponopelta yezoensis, Japan's First Definitive Ankylosaur (blog.everythingdinosaur.com)
- New Species of Armored Dinosaur Identified in Japan | Sci.News (sci.news)
- Nipponopelta in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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