Cedarpelta

Cedarpelta was an early, unusually large ankylosaurid discovered in the Early Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation of Utah. Named in 2001, it provided valuable insights into the early evolutionary radiation of the armoured dinosaurs. Reaching between six and seven and a half metres in length, Cedarpelta was larger than many of its later relatives. Unlike derived ankylosaurines, Cedarpelta lacked a bony tail club and retained ancestral skull features, such as a relatively simple nasal passage and less consolidated dermal armour on its snout. However, its broad torso was still covered by rows of protective bony osteoderms. As a quadrupedal herbivore, it fed on tough ground vegetation, using its broad beak and small teeth to chop fibrous plant tissues.

Cedarpelta is one of the largest and most basal known members of the family Ankylosauridae.

Where and when

Cedarpelta lived in the Early Cretaceous, from 115 to 105 million years ago (Albian age). Its remains come from United States, in the Cedar Mountain Formation.

The numbers

Length 6.8 m (estimates run from 6 to 7.5 m). Mass about 3.2 t. Hip height about 1.8 m. That is 4 human-lengths, or 0.61 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, first ma, last ma, hip height.

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