Fun Borealopelta Facts For Kids

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How do you pronounce 'Borealopelta'?

Borealopelta is pronounced as "bow-real-o-pel-ta". When literally translated, this name means "Northern shield". Usually, paleontologists are given credit for the discovery of fossils, specimens, and remains of dinosaurs, but in the case of this armored dinosaur, a miner named Shawn Funk first made the discovery of the fossil of the Borealopelta. After being discovered the fossils were kept in the Royal Tyrrell Museum. A technician at this museum, Mark Mitchell, gave six years of his life to prepare the specimen for study by paleontologists. To pay tribute to Mark Mitchell, the species was given the name Borealopelta markmitchelli.

What type of dinosaur was a Borealopelta?

This dinosaur was a type of nodosaurid ankylosaur. Nodosaur was a type of dinosaur who lived from the Late Jurassic till the Late Cretaceous period. The majority of the ankylosaur dinosaurs had armors. While talking about this animal's diet, paleontologists pointed out that nodosaurid ankylosaur dinosaurs were herbivorous.

In which geological period did the Borealopelta roam the earth?

These armored dinosaurs roamed the surface of the earth during the Lower Cretaceous period. This period existed from 145 million years ago to approximately 110 million years ago.

When did the Borealopelta become extinct?

The Borealopelta markmitchelli became extinct at the end of the Lower Cretaceous age, which is about 110 million years ago. Dinosaurs, as an entire species, became extinct about 65 million years ago when an asteroid shower hit the planet Earth.

Where did a Borealopelta live?

This armored dinosaur lived in America, specifically North America. They were residents of Alberta, Canada. Their fossil was discovered in a mine of oil sands named Millennium Mine. This mine was located at the north of a place called Fort McMurray in Alberta. Since it was discovered in Alberta, the government of Alberta enforced the Alberta Fossil Law to make this ancient, well-preserved fossil their property.

What was a Borealopelta's habitat?

The eating habits of the Borealopelta markmitchelli revealed that they fed on the fern plant. Hence, their habitat was one covered with ferns. The Borealopelta markmitchelli lived among vegetation and forestation since they were known to camouflage well with their surroundings because of their coloration.

Who did a Borealopelta live with?

It is not known if the Borealopelta markmitchelli was a social animal or if this animal preferred to live in solitude. Nodosaur dinosaurs were generally known to be able to form social groups with others of their kind.

How long did a Borealopelta live?

The exact lifespan of the nodosaur Borealopelta markmitchelli is not known, nor is there any mention in paleontology about the death rate of the nodosaur.

How did they reproduce?

Like other dinosaurs, the Borealopelta markmitchelli also reproduced through oviparous methods. Not much detail is known about the Borealopelta reproduction. Scientists have observed that in general, the male dinosaur would fertilize the female's eggs with his sperm inside her body. Then the female dinosaur would lay the eggs. Once the eggs were out of her body, they would hatch within a few days, giving birth to hatchlings. These hatchlings were responsible for keeping themselves alive out in the wild since dinosaurs did not take care of their young ones once they were born.

What did a Borealopelta look like?

This prehistoric nodosaur was an armored dinosaur. The fossil and remains of the specimen that were discovered from the mine in Alberta were one of the most well-preserved specimens ever found, if not the best-preserved dinosaur fossil to be found. Unlike other related prehistoric dinosaurs, their remains were not flattened when they fossilized. This helped scientists in the field of paleontology with the Borealopelta reconstruction. The company which owned the mine, Suncor, is given credit for having three-dimensional preservation of the Borealopelta dinosaur. This Borealopelta model is complete one having soft tissue inside. The Borealopelta color consists of reddish-brown armor and a white underbelly. Their Armor had a counter-shaded design. Using this and their body coloration they covered and blended themselves in the surroundings. Many spines could be found coming out from their shoulders.

How many bones did a Borealopelta have?

Scientists have not recorded the number of bones in the anatomy of these animals. Dinosaurs usually had 200 bones.

How did they communicate?

The world of paleontology has not confirmed the Borealopelta dinosaur's specific communication methods. Dinosaurs could often give out stunning love calls, or even engage in songs and dance during mating rituals. These animals primarily communicated through sounds and gestures. They also communicated with others in their society via smell and sight.

How big was a Borealopelta?

The fossilized remains of this animal show that they were 18ft (216 in) in length. This means that the Borealopelta markmitchelli size could be almost double the size of an Acanthopholis dinosaur.

How fast could a Borealopelta move?

This dinosaur's speed remains unknown. Dinosaurs in general can be given credit for being fast runners. They had a speed of 23-55 mph (37-88 kph) while running.

How much did a Borealopelta weigh?

This dinosaur's weight, as per its fossilized remains, was 2800 lb (1270 kg) approximately.

What were the male and female names of the species?

There are no separate names for the male and female sexes of this animal. Both the sexes go by the generic term dinosaurs.

What would you call a baby Borealopelta?

A baby dinosaur is called a hatchling or a nestling.

What did they eat?

In an attempt to study the eating habits of this dinosaur when it used to be alive, its stomach contents were brought under observation for study. Since the fossil of this nodosaur was one of the best-preserved ones ever, it was also possible to determine what this dinosaur's last meal was. This last meal contained some seeds and fruits in their fossilized form. It was seen that most of the stomach contents comprised of fern. Some amount of ash was also found in the stomach of this nodosaur. The ash and charcoal in the stomach formed 6% of the Borealopelta gut contents. This reveals that the nodosaur feeding on burnt vegetation.

How aggressive were they?

This dinosaur was not aggressive. The fossils that were preserved in the Royal Tyrrell Museum, show that this was a herbivorous animal. They did not attack or go near other animals to harm them.

Did you know...

Even though the Borealopelta was significant to the history of Alberta, this region's most iconic dinosaur was the Albertosaurus.

It is not known these animals belonged to any class of the Eurypoda.

What is significant about the Borealopelta?

The most significant thing about this animal is that a lot about its life could be published in journals because of how well-preserved its fossils were. Even the last meal of its life could be discovered through this preserved specimen. Another remarkable thing lay in its skin color. The reddish-brown color helped the animal to blend in with its surroundings, which was a brown color.

How was Borealopelta preserved?

The employees at Suncor underwent training to recover all parts of the fossil that were found. The pieces that were broken were wrapped and stabilized in plaster for safely transferring them to the Royal Tyrrell Museum where it is now preserved. Such preserved pieces include a Borealopelta fossil arm, overlying skin, keratin sheaths, and more. Mark Mitchell spent six years preserving these so that they could be studied and published.

*Please note that this is an image of a triceratops, not a Borealopelta. If you have an image of Borealopelta, please let us know at [email protected]l.com.

*Please note that this is an image of an Avaceratops, not a Borealopelta. If you have an image of Borealopelta, please let us know at [email protected].