FOR AGES 3 YEARS TO 18 YEARS
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The Dracopelta dinosaur, or Dracopelta zbyszewskii, was a herbivore. It was a genus of ankylosaurus dinosaurs and existed about 145 million years ago. Dracopelta is recognized to be the first ankylosaur from the Late Jurassic and now exists as the basalmost member of ankylosaurs, however being initially classified in the nodosauridae. The fossils of the partial Dracopelta skeleton have been recovered from two places in Portugal. The first place where their fossils were found was in Mafra and the second type to be found was in the Farta Pao Formation. Being described by Peter Galton in 1980, the fossils of these dinosaurs that were found in the first locality were said to be from the Early Cretaceous and those from the second region were said to have lived during the Late Jurassic. The holotype of Dracopelta zbyszewsii is a partial skeleton that contains the rib cage which has 13 dorsal vertebrae and has a dermal shield-like structure. Paleontologists through intensive research are sure that these dinosaurs come from the Ankylosaur genus, but no one knows for certain if the genus was an actual ankylosaurid or a nodosaurid. In fact, it was originally classified as nodosauridae. These dinosaurs, which come from the ankylosaurid classification, lived in terrestrial habitats sharing similar diet patterns to different types of other herbivorous animals like sheep, cows, bulls, buffalos, rabbits, and so on. Scientists have not been able to determine how these animals looked like but they closely resemble crocodiles that could walk.
If you'd like to learn more about similar dinosaurs, check out our Mymoorapelta interesting facts for kids or Palaeoscincus fun facts that you're sure to love!
Dracopelta dinosaurs are pronounced as 'Dray-coe-pel-tah'.
Dracopelta was a type of ankylosaur. They were originally described by Peter Galton and holotype consists of a partial skeleton.
They belonged to the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous periods and were found in Portugal.
The Dracopelta became extinct about 65-80 million years ago, just like all other dinosaur species.
This herbivore is believed to have lived in terrestrial habitats like wetlands, estuaries, forests, and near riverbeds and lakes. Ankylosaurus also lived alongside dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, and Edmontosaurus.
Dracopelta (Dracopelta zbyszewskii) was believed to have made its habitat in wetlands as well as upland areas since they were part of the ankylosaur species.
Coming from the Ankylosauria classification, these species are believed to have lived by themselves. They moved by themselves from habitat to habitat, searching for food.
Through research, scientists have stated that Dracopelta has lived from the Tithonian Age to 145 million years ago on terrestrial habitats.
Dracopelta zbyszewskii was oviparous. This means that they reproduced by laying eggs. The female laid about one to two eggs and incubated them for a brief period of time. The young dinosaurs became independent at an earlier stage. The nesting behavior of the parents is not known as the remains found were not enough to make conclusions on how they nurtured and cared for their young.
There wasn't much known about the Dracopelta since only a partial skeleton was found. But being an ankylosaur, this species, that lived during the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, was described to have certain types of scutes or massive knobs of bone on its back and had five different types of armor. It was similar to that of the crocodiles and some lizards. In fact, these bones form within the skin and act as a shield for these animals!
Since the complete skeleton of the Dracopelta zbyszewskii is yet to be found, it is difficult to determine the number of bones that this animal had. So far, only a partial skeleton has been found which consists of a rib cage with thirteen dorsal vertebrae and there are other parts of the holotype to be discovered by paleontologists. However, they would have definitely have had more than 200 bones!
The Dracopelta zbyszewskii species may have communicated with each other by hissing, clapping their jaws together, grinding against upper jaws, rubbing scales together, or use of environmental materials like splashing water or breaking trees.
It is difficult to estimate the animal's size from the incomplete remains, but it was clearly a small animal, approximately 39 in (1 m) long, similar to the length of a dolphin! The Dracopelta height is currently unknown.
Since the Dracopelta zbyszewskii was an ankylosaur, it was believed to have moved at an average speed of 6 mph (9.6 kph).
There is very little information on the weight of these animals considering the lack of sufficient parts of the skeleton to determine this. Scientists are still trying to find out this information through intensive and detailed research.
There are no sex-specific male or female names for these species that lived during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous.
A baby Dracopelta is called a nestling or a hatchling, like other dinosaur babies!
These animals with five different armors were herbivores and ate plants and vegetation. Living in terrestrial habitats like wetlands, uplands, river beds, and estuaries, the Dracopelta shared its diet with other herbivores like sheep, cows, zebras, and other cattle.
Scientific research says that these animals were unpredictable and could be aggressive at any moment. More aggressive behaviors would have been displayed by them when either provoked or threatened.
The Dracopelta species was named in honor of the paleontologist Georges Zbyszewski, a Portuguese vertebrate paleontologist!
Dracopelta means 'small shield dragon'. It was equipped with five different types of armor-like structures. This would have proved to be advantageous for them when they came face-to-face with any sort of danger or threat.
It is not known at the moment if the Dracopelta can bite or not, but they probably would have since sharp teeth are required to bite off leaves and plants.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other creatures from our Liaoningosaurus facts, or Cryptosaurus facts for kids.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Dracopelta coloring pages.
*We've been unable to source an image of Dracopelta and have used an image of a skeleton of Brontosaurus instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Dracopelta, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at [email protected].
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At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family.
Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
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