Sauropelta

Name: Sauropelta

Pronounced: Sore-oh-pel-tah

Meaning: Lizard shield

Type: Armoured Dinosaur

Length: 5 - 6 meters long

Diet: Herbivore

Period: Early Cretaceous

Years: 121-94 million years ago

Location: USA

Description: Sauropelta is a genus of armored dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 110 to 100 million years ago. It was a member of the nodosaurid family, a group of herbivorous dinosaurs characterized by their heavily-armored bodies. Sauropelta was about 15-20 feet long and weighed around 2-3 tons. It had a low, wide body and a short, wide head, with a beak used for cutting vegetation. Its most notable feature was its armor, which consisted of large, oval-shaped plates of bone called scutes, which were arranged in a row down its back and tail. The scutes were connected by a series of smaller, interlocking plates, forming a kind of 'chain mail' armor. Sauropelta also had a pair of long spikes on the back of its head and neck, which may have been used for defense against predators. Despite its armor, Sauropelta was likely a slow-moving, herbivorous dinosaur that primarily fed on low-lying plants.

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