Sauropelta

Sauropelta is one of the best-preserved and most thoroughly documented nodosaurids discovered in North America. Dating to the late Early Cretaceous, its remains are abundant in the Cloverly Formation of Montana and Wyoming. Stretching up to six metres long and weighing roughly two tonnes, this formidable plant-eater possessed an unusually long tail that made up almost half of its total body length. Along its neck and shoulders sat dramatic, hollow-based bony spines that projected sideways, offering vital protection against contemporaneously roaming theropods like Deinonychus and Acrocanthosaurus. The remainder of its body was clad in a mosaic of flat bony scutes. With its narrow snout, Sauropelta was a selective browser, carefully cropping soft, nutritious foliage close to the ground in ancient floodplains.

Its exceptionally long, muscular tail accounted for nearly half of its total body length.

Where and when

Sauropelta lived in the Early Cretaceous, from 115 to 105 million years ago (Aptian-Albian age). Its remains come from United States, in the Cloverly Formation.

The numbers

Length 5.5 m (estimates run from 5 to 6 m). Mass about 1.7 t. Hip height about 1.4 m. That is 3.2 human-lengths, or 0.49 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.

Compare Sauropelta with a bus Place on the timeline