Patagopelta
Patagopelta was a small armoured dinosaur that lived in what is now Argentina. It was covered in bony plates called osteoderms, like a suit of armour, and had a strong, crested thigh bone.1
When did it live?
How big was it?
How long was it?
How heavy was it?
How big was Patagopelta compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
Fun facts
Patagopelta is one of the smallest known armoured dinosaurs, only about 2 metres long.1
Its name means 'Patagonian shield' because of the many bony plates that covered its back.1
The species name 'cristata' means 'crested' in Latin, referring to the high crests on its neck armour and thigh bone.1
Patagopelta lived during the Late Cretaceous period, about 72 to 66 million years ago.2
Its fossils were first described in 1996, but it was not named as a new species until 2022.1
Scientists are not sure whether Patagopelta belongs to the nodosaurid family or the parankylosaur group.1
Most asked questions about Patagopelta
?How big was Patagopelta?
Patagopelta was a small armoured dinosaur, about 2 metres (6.6 feet) long. That is small for an ankylosaur.43
?When did Patagopelta live?
It lived during the Late Cretaceous period, about 72 to 66 million years ago. Its fossils were found in Argentina.45
?What did Patagopelta eat?
It was a plant-eater, like other ankylosaurs. Its teeth were good for eating plants.4
Ask Rex about Patagopelta
Rex only answers questions about this page. 3 questions a day.
Rex is an AI and can make mistakes. He runs on servers in the EU and questions are never saved. Never type your name or other personal things.
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Patagopelta
- Named by
- Riguetti et al. 20226
- Group
- Armoured dinos
- Family / clade
- Nodosauridae6
- Classification
- Ornithischia > Ankylosauria > Nodosauridae > Thyreophora6
- Age of the rocks
- 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)6
- Rock formations
- Allen6
- Countries
- Argentina6
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database6
- Discovery
- Patagopelta was named in 2022 by Facundo Riguetti and colleagues, based on fossils found in the Allen Formation of Argentina. The first remains were discovered in the 1990s and were called the 'Argentinian ankylosaur' for many years.1
- Still debated
- Scientists debate whether Patagopelta was a nodosaurid ankylosaur or a parankylosaur, because it shares features with both groups.1
Where the facts come from
- Patagopelta (en.wikipedia.org)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- A new small-bodied ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of North Patagonia (Río Negro Pr (ri.conicet.gov.ar)
- Patagopelta (en.wikipedia.org)
- Scientists reveal the existence of a new dinosaur that lived in Patagonia 70 million years ago | CONICET (conicet.gov.ar)
- Patagopelta 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.
Rex is hungry! Dino Wiki is a dad's project for his dino-loving son, free with no ads. Grown-ups can feed Rex a snack to help keep it online.Feed Rex
Ankylosaurus
Sauropelta
Pinacosaurus
Scutellosaurus
Struthiosaurus
Euoplocephalus
Tyrannosaurus
Triceratops
Velociraptor
Spinosaurus
Parasaurolophus
Pteranodon