Fun Cedarpelta Facts For Kids
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Ankylosauria is a group of herbivorous dinosaurs of the order Ornithischia. It includes dinosaurs with armored shells, similar to turtles. Ankylosaurs were bulky quadrupeds and had short, powerful limbs. The two main families are primarily known from the Northern Hemisphere, but more basal Ankylosaurs are known from the Australia-Antarctica region during the Cretaceous.
Cedarpelta is an extinct genus of herbivorous dinosaurs, from the Lower Cretaceous of North America. This dinosaur is from the Ornithischia order, and the Dinosauria superorder is characterized by a pelvic structure superficially similar to that of a bird.
The name Ornithischia reflects this similarity and is derived from the Greek word 'ornith' meaning from a bird, and 'ischia' meaning hip joint. However, no present-day bird species are closely related to this group, but several bird species are related to Theropod dinosaurs.
Sue Ann Bilbey and Evan Hall discovered fossil remains (a partial skeleton) near the Price River in Carbon County, Utah in 1990. The genus was named after the Cedar Mountain Formation and their appearance, and the specific name- bilbeyhallorum, in honor of Sue Ann Bilbey, and Evan Hall.
The type species was named and described by Kenneth Carpenter, James Kirkland, Donald Burge, and John Bird. The scientific name translates to 'Bilbey and Hall's Cedar (Mountain) shield'.
The remains are now at the CEUM (CEUM is the acronym of the College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum in Price, Utah).
Kenneth Carpenter placed them within the Ankylosauridae family, and offered the dinosaurs two positions in the evolutionary tree- the first was that it could be the basal Ankylosaurid (the first discovered branch to split off from the Ankylosaurid family), and the second was that it formed an early Ankylosaurid branch or clade.
However, the disarticulated skull, along with the fully articulated one (which is also the genus holotype), paved the way for more in-depth research and studies into the construction of the skulls, bone structure, and lifestyle of these kinds of dinosaurs.
Results studies conducted by Victoria Megan Arbour revealed that it was the most basal Ankylosaurid species to have ever lived.
Even though they do not have tail clubs, Victoria Megan Arbour stressed that all Ankylosaurids from the early Jurassic Period possibly lacked a true club and evolved.
Scroll down to read about Cedarpelta size and similarity to a present-day bird. Learn about some other prehistoric creatures from our Linheraptor fun facts and Volgatitan fun facts pages.
Cedarpelta Interesting Facts
How do you pronounce 'Cedarpelta'?
The word Cedarpelta is pronounced 'See-dar-pel-tuh'.
What type of dinosaur was a Cedarpelta?
The Cedarpelta is so named based on material recovered from the Lower Cretaceous of North America. The scientific classification of this dinosaur is as follows- kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, class Sauropsida, superorder Dinosauria, order Ornithischia, infraorder Ankylosauria, family Ankylosauridae, and genus Cedarpelta.
In which geological period did the Cedarpelta roam the earth?
Fossil remains of the Cedarpelta dinosaurs were found in the Cedar Mountain Formation, dating to between 116-109 million years old. It first appeared in the early Jurassic Period and existed until the end of the Cretaceous Period.
When did the Cedarpelta become extinct?
These dinosaurs lived in the Lower Cretaceous of North America and went extinct during the K-T mass extinction nearly 65 million years ago. They were from the infraorder of Ankylosauria.
Where did a Cedarpelta live?
The Cedarpelta dinosaur range occupied the Lower Cretaceous of North America and was discovered in Utah.
What was a Cedarpelta's habitat?
This dinosaur lived in regions that provided it with plenty of food and water: forests, riversides, floodplains, and swamps.
Who did a Cedarpelta live with?
Ankylosaurs were most likely social as young and moved in herds, but as adults, they move alone. Evidence of a group of young Ankylosaurs was discovered in the Gobi Desert.
How long did a Cedarpelta live?
Their life span is unknown. But these creatures had a long-lasting reign and roamed the Earth from the early Jurassic Period, until the end of the Cretaceous Period. Therapods in general were believed to have a life span of 26-32 years.
How did they reproduce?
They reproduced via sexual reproduction. Males would deposit their sperm inside females, who would later lay fertilized eggs containing developing dinosaur embryos.
They built nests by digging burrows in the soil and laid giant eggs which had a hard layered shell. The eggs were amniotic, meaning the fetus was covered by a membrane which helped in its protection as well as supplying oxygen and other nutrients to the fetus.
Cedarpelta Fun Facts
What did a Cedarpelta look like?
The Cedarpelta bilbeyhallorum dinosaur is described by the fossil remains found at Cedar Mountain Formation (a skull and partial skeleton) - a relatively elongated skull, the front snout bone. Each praemaxilla had six conical teeth, and a long neck, which is uncommon among Ankylosaurids.
The skull length of a Cedarpelta bilbeyhallorum dinosaur is around 24 in (60 cm).
One of the skulls was found disarticulated, unlike other Ankylosaur dinosaurs, allowing paleontologists to examine individual bones instead of the entire unit. The skull of this dinosaur leads to several other theories and hypotheses about Ankylosaur dinosaurs.
How many bones did a Cedarpelta have?
The fossil remains of this Cedarpelta bilbeyhallorum dinosaur discovered at Cedar Mountain Formation consisted of a partial skull and few other dentary bones. Thus, the total number of bones is unknown.
How did they communicate?
Theories suggest that Ankylosaurs developed their sense of smell to find food and to avoid predators. Body language also played an important role in interspecific and intraspecific communication.
How big was a Cedarpelta?
Cedarpelta was a large Ankylosaurian with a body length of 16.4-22.9 ft (5-7 m).
How fast could a Cedarpelta move?
The exact speed rate of this dinosaur is unknown.
How much did a Cedarpelta weigh?
They weighed around 10,000 lb (4,535 kg).
What were the male and female names of the species?
The female species are called Saura, whereas males are called Saurus
What would you call a baby Cedarpelta?
Young Cedarpeltas can be referred to as hatchlings.
What did they eat?
Since they were herbivores their diet mainly consisted of plants and fruits.
How aggressive were they?
Since they were herbivores, scientists speculate that they were not aggressive in general but were good at defending themselves thanks to their hard armored shells.
Did you know...
The term 'Dinosauria' was coined by Sir Richard Owen in 1842.
Results studies conducted by Victoria Megan Arbour revealed that it was the most basal Ankylosaurid species to have ever lived.
What fossils have been found from the Cedarpelta?
A skull and partial skeleton of this dinosaur were found near the Cedar Mountain Formation in Utah. The remains consisted 0f the central dorsal, left nasal fragment, left quadrate with an attached quadratojugal, right prefrontal, left ulna, left premaxilla, keeled plates, left angular, partial right ischium, right quadratojugal, right lachrymal, cervical centrum, right postorbital, and jugal fragments.
Ankylosaurus vs. Cedarpelta
Cedarpelta is closely related to Ankylosaurus but lacks tail clubs. So in this fight, we think an Ankylosaurus would claim victory!
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Juravenator interesting facts or Veterupristisaurus facts for kids.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Cedarpelta coloring pages.
Main image by Дмитрия Иванович Михайленко and second image by Nobu Tamura.
*We've been unable to source an image of Cedarpelta and have used an image of Crichtonsaurus instead as the main image. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Cedarpelta, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at hello@kidadl.com
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