恐龍卡第 1277 張，共 2 027 張

Nipponopelta

名字的意思： “Japanese shield”1

吃：植物甲龍類白堊紀晚期

Nipponopelta was an armored dinosaur that looked like a walking tank. It had bony plates on its back and long spikes on its shoulders to scare off predators.2 1

生存年代

100 到 94 百萬年前6

白堊紀晚期

化石發現地

Yūbari, Hokkaido, Japan1 2

長度

5 m (16 ft)4

高度

1.5 m (4.9 ft)

估計值

最高速度

時速約 17 公里（11 英里）

跑步, 估計值

牠生活在什麼時候？

三疊紀

侏羅紀

白堊紀

2 億 5200 萬年前20114566，小行星撞地球

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

牠有多高？

估計值

跟 5 隻狗從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 28 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長能在 21 秒內跑完 100 公尺（最快的人類要 9.6 秒）

Nipponopelta 跟「你」比起來有多大？

只是在你的瀏覽器裡算算數學。什麼都不會被儲存或傳送出去。

牠有多快？

走路的人 時速約 5 公里 (3 mph)

騎腳踏車的小朋友 時速約 12 公里 (7 mph)

Nipponopelta 時速約 17 公里 (11 mph)

一匹飛奔的馬 時速約 65 公里 (40 mph)

一隻獵豹 時速約 100 公里 (62 mph)

酷東西

趣味知識

Nipponopelta is the first armored dinosaur ever named from Japan.1 2

Its fossils were found in marine rocks, meaning its body may have washed out to sea after death.3 1

Scientists used CT scans to see hidden bones inside the rock, like two complete teeth and part of the inner ear.1 2

Nipponopelta belonged to a group called nodosaurids, which had long spikes on their shoulders but no tail club.2 3

Its ancestors likely walked from North America to Asia across a land bridge called Beringia about 100 million years ago.3 2

Nipponopelta lived near the coast, which may have helped its relatives spread between continents.1 2

The fossil was discovered in 1995 by a local fossil hunter named Eijiro Goto along a riverbank.1 2

Nipponopelta 的 AI 繪圖 — 這是電腦根據科學家目前的知識，用 AI 畫出 Nipponopelta 可能的樣子。這只是猜測：真正的動物可能長得不一樣，也沒有人知道牠真正的顏色。

你們都在問

關於 Nipponopelta 最常被問的問題

?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

給恐龍專家

學名: Nipponopelta
命名者: Oyabu et al. 20276
類群: 甲龍類
科 / 演化支: Nodosauridae6
分類: Ornithischia > Ankylosauria > Nodosauridae > Thyreophora6
岩石的年代: 100 到 94 百萬年 (Cenomanian)6
岩層: Hikagenosawa6
國家: 日本6
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 1 筆6
發現: 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.1 2
仍有爭議: Scientists are not sure if Nipponopelta lived right on the coast or if its body was carried to the sea after death.1 3