OrnithischiaNodosauridae

Europelta carbonensis

Europelta carbonensis skeletal reconstruction, left lateral view, reconstructed length ~5 m.
Scale bar = 1 meter
Taxon
Europelta carbonensis Kirkland et al., 2013
Reconstructed length
~5 m (16 feet)
View
Left lateral
Drawing
© Scott Hartman
Drawn
2013, revised 2014
Clade
  1. Ornithischia
  2. Thyreophora
  3. Ankylosauria
  4. Nodosauridae

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Europelta was an early nodosaurid, a type of armored dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous of Spain. It is among the most complete ankylosaurs known from Europe and, like other nodosaurids, bore body armor but no tail club. Europelta is currently known from two individuals, type specimen AR-1/10 and referred specimen AR-1/31. The rigorous skeletal shows what is known from both individuals combined (minus their armor, to better show off the underlying skeletal anatomy).

The evidence

What the specimen actually preserves

Europelta carbonensis — known skeletal material, left lateral view; preserved elements in white against a black body silhouette.
Known material: elements preserved in the specimen are shown in white; unpreserved regions are left as black silhouette. Drawn 2013, revised 2014