Temporal range: Campanian, Late Cretaceous
79–77 Ma
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O
S
D
C
P
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Sketches of the holotype
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Clade:
Dinosauria
Clade:
†Ornithischia
Clade:
†Thyreophora
Clade:
†Ankylosauria
Clade:
†Parankylosauria
Genus:
†Antarctopelta Salgado & Gasparini, 2006
Type species
†Antarctopelta oliveroi
Salgado & Gasparini, 2006
Antarctopelta (ann-TARK-toh-PEL-tə; meaning 'Antarctic shield') is a genus of ankylosaurian dinosaur, a group of large, quadrupedal herbivores, that lived during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period on what is now James Ross Island, Antarctica. Antarctopelta is the only known ankylosaur from Antarctica and a member of Parankylosauria. The only described specimen was found in 1986, the first dinosaur to be found on the continent, by Argentine geologists Eduardo Olivero and Robert Scasso. The fossils were later described in 2006 by paleontologists Leonardo Salgado and Zulma Gasparini, who named the type species A. oliveroi after Olivero.
It was a medium-sized ankylosaur, reaching 4 meters (13 feet) in length or more, and showed characteristics of two different families, making more precise classification difficult for many years. This was until 2021, when a nearly complete skeleton of the similar Chilean genus Stegouros was described. This led to the recognition of Parankylosauria, containing Antarctopelta, Stegouros, and Kunbarrasaurus. The head was small, with proportionally large teeth compared to other ankylosaurs' and spikes above the orbits. The neck and back vertebrae were short and circular in cross-section, whereas the tail vertebrae were elongated and flattened. Its tail likely terminated in an arrangement of spiked osteoderms known as a macuahuitl, which resembled an Aztec weapon of the same name. Osteoderms were present on other parts of the body and came in six different shapes, with some being large and flat while others were tall and keeled.
It was discovered in rocks of the Gamma Member of the Snow Hill Island Formation, which bears a variety of other fossils, many of them unique as they evolved in the isolation of Antarctica after the breakup of Gondwana. Antarctopelta coexisted with the ornithopod dinosaur Trinisaura in addition to a menagerie of mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, and sharks.
Antarctopelta (ann-TARK-toh-PEL-tə; meaning 'Antarctic shield') is a genus of ankylosaurian dinosaur, a group of large, quadrupedal herbivores, that lived...
such as the result of their novel phylogenetic results, which grouped Antarctopelta, Kunbarrasaurus (Minmi sp. of earlier analyses) and their new taxon...
flat connected structure. Stegouros differs from its close relative Antarctopelta in its smaller body size, relatively larger neural canal, longer dorsosacral...
been difficult to interpret in a phylogenetic context. Vertebrae of Antarctopelta from Antarctica, for example, were so foreign compared to those of euankylosaurs...
North America. Some Gondwanan ankylosaurs, including the Antarctican Antarctopelta and Argentinian Patagopelta, were originally regarded as belonging to...
preserved, some of the relatives of Kunbarrasaurus, including Stegouros and Antarctopelta, had a large macuahuitl-like structure at the end of the tail, formed...
Early Jurassic Hanson Formation of the Transantarctic Mountains, and Antarctopelta, Trinisaura, Morrosaurus and Imperobator from Late Cretaceous of the...
parankylosaurian, similar to ankylosaurs like Antarctopelta rather than nodosaurids. In their 2024 redescription of Antarctopelta, Soto Acuña, Vargas & Kaluza further...
Soto Acuña, Vargas & Kaluza (2024) redescribe the holotype specimen of Antarctopelta from the Snow Hill Island Formation (Antarctica), and provide support...
archosauriform Ankylosaurus Anodontosaurus Anomalipes Anoplosaurus Anserimimus Antarctopelta Antarctosaurus Antetonitrus Anthodon – subsequently found to be a pareiasaur...
Cretaceous strata of James Ross Island also yielded the dinosaur genus Antarctopelta, which was the first dinosaur fossil to be found on Antarctica. Paleogene...
troodontid flushes out Cimolodon by spreading a forest fire. A juvenile Antarctopelta scours the forest for a new winter den. A Pachyrhinosaurus herd stands...
santamartaensis, Biscoveosaurus and Morrosaurus antarcticus, the ankylosaurian Antarctopelta oliveroi, and the shark Notidanodon sp. Alongside these described genera...
first theropod, to be discovered in Antarctica. It was discovered after Antarctopelta, but named earlier. In 1991, both Hammer and the Ohio State University...
medium-sized ankylosaurid, estimated to be around 6 m (20 ft) long. Antarctopelta Santa Marta Formation, James Ross Island, Antarctica A stocky ankylosaur...
Name Year Formation Location Notes Images Antarctopelta 2006 Snow Hill Island Formation (Late Cretaceous, Campanian) Antarctica Possessed unusual caudal...
shield. This shield is also found in ankylosaurs like Polacanthus and Antarctopelta. Large, pointed spines lined the sides of the neck, increasing in size...
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