Fun Europelta Facts For Kids

The Europelta carbonensis was a type of short-limbed, armored dinosaur species which lived in Europe in the Early Cretaceous (Lower Albian stage) period, popularly known as the 'shield of Europe'. Its remains were first found in the open-pit Santa María coal mine in Spain, being the most complete ankylosaur skeletal remains discovered in Europe to date. The name Europelta carbonensis translates to Europe's shield from the coal, paying tribute to its highly armored back and where its discovery was made. It has been reconstructed from the discovery of two separate partial skeletons.

To learn more about this roar-some reptile, read on! For more relatable content, check out these Tanius facts and Agustinia facts for kids.

How do you pronounce 'Europelta'?

Europelta can be pronounced as 'you-roh-pel-ta'.

What type of dinosaur was a Europelta?

The Europelta was a type of European ankylosaur, meaning an armored lizard with short limbs.

In which geological period did the Europelta roam the Earth?

The European Europelta carbonensis dinosaur roamed the Earth during the Early Cretaceous (Lower Albian stage) period.

When did the Europelta become extinct?

The Europelta dinosaur most likely became extinct around the end of the Early Cretaceous (Lower Albian stage) period, which ended around 100.5 million years ago.

Where did a Europelta live?

The Europelta dinosaur lived around Teruel Province, in northeastern Spain during the Early Cretaceous period, and its remains were found among the deeper layers of coal in the open-pit Santa María coal mine.

What was a Europelta's habitat?

The Europelta carbonensis dinosaur mostly lived in landlocked plains surrounded by mountains and in hilly areas, with abundant vegetation and grasslands to sustain their herbivorous diets. These areas subsequently became coal mines as time went on, where the skeletal remains of the Europelta were found.

Who did a Europelta live with?

Europeltas, like most other dinosaurs, mostly lived in packs. There are high chances of herbivorous dinosaurs living and feeding together in groups, and this theory has been developed due to the discovery of a number of fossilized trackways containing a sequence of dinosaur footprints, all suggesting the presence of dinosaurs traveling in groups.

How long did a Europelta live?

Though the exact lifespan of the Europelta carbonensis dinosaur cannot be determined, it has been estimated that they lived quite long lives, akin to those of similar reptiles like crocodiles and turtles. Due to their slow metabolisms and herbivorous diets, these beasts have been estimated to live between 80-300 years. The Europelta lived during the Early Cretaceous period.

How did they reproduce?

Europelta dinosaurs were oviparous and reproduced by laying eggs. Their mating process was mostly similar to that of modern-day reptiles, with complete internal fertilization taking place inside the female's body.

What did a Europelta look like?

The skeletal reconstruction of the Europelta carbonensis shows that it was a short-statured dinosaur, having quite short and thick limbs. It was medium-sized and had thick armor plates covering its entire back in order to protect it from predators. It had a pear-shaped skull and a thick body.

How many bones did a Europelta have?

Though the exact number of bones of this ankylosaur dinosaur, that lived in northeastern Spain, has not been determined, the skull and cranial bones of this dinosaur have been unearthed. The number of bones possessed by the average dinosaur has been worked out to be around 200, hence the Europelta dinosaur most probably had around 200 bones, with a few extra due to its heavy armor plates shown through its skeletal reconstruction.

How did they communicate?

Dinosaurs are known for their loud, earth-shaking roars which are mostly how this dinosaur communicated. They mostly used bellowing roars, grunts of low rumbling noises to communicate, in order to mate or chase away other dinosaurs from their territories. Visual displays were also probably used, with raising of the front legs, stomping, and tail whipping involved.

How big was a Europelta?

Europelta ankylosaur dinosaurs were medium in size, being around 14.8 ft (4.5 m) long. Their limbs were very thick and short, making them quite small in height, at around 6.6-9.8 ft (2-3 m).

How fast could a Europelta move?

Ankylosaur dinosaurs were quite fast, they were estimated to have been able to run at a speed of 6 mph (9.6 kph) despite the presence of having such a heavy shield on their back. However, this would have not been fast enough to outrun larger carnivores.

How much did a Europelta weigh?

Being covered with thick, heavy armor, these ankylosaur dinosaurs weighed quite a lot despite being comparatively medium in size. We can assume that like any other nodosaurid, they weighed around 4,409.2-7,716.2 lb (2-3.5 met tons).

What were the male and female names of the species?

A male dinosaur has been termed a saurus whereas the female dinosaur is known as saura. We do not make any distinction in sex while referring to dinosaurs though.

What would you call a baby Europelta?

Baby Europelta dinosaurs were known as Europelta hatchlings since they hatched from eggs laid by the female dinosaurs.

What did they eat?

Since Europelta dinosaurs were herbivorous in nature, they most likely sustained themselves on a diet of leaves, plant material, twigs, roots, and rudimentary fruits, vegetables, and seeds.

How aggressive were they?

Though herbivorous nodosaurid dinosaurs did not prey on smaller creatures, they still had to be quite aggressive in order to protect themselves from the larger predatory dinosaurs such as various therapods and velociraptors. They had a number of defensive mechanisms such as tough, scaly armor, bludgeon, and mace-like tails and sharp horns and spikes on their body, in order to attack any incoming predators head-on. The Europelta dinosaur had thick armor covering its entire back and long tail, which would have proved useful when facing off against potential predators.

Did you know...

Europelta is known from two associated partial skeleton findings and is the most complete ankylosaur from Europe.

It is considered to be the oldest nodosaurid from Europe.

Is the Europelta an armored dinosaur?

Yes, the Europelta is a type of nodosaurid ankylosaur, meaning an armored dinosaur with short limbs. It had thick osteoderm plates covering its entire back, with spikes extending down its neck and smaller plates covering its tail.

How was the Europelta discovered?

The first Europelta specimen was discovered in the open-pit Santa María coal mine in Spain. It was named Europelta in 2013 as it is the most complete ankylosaur specimen found in Europe and pelta meaning 'shield' in Ancient Greek.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other dinosaurs from our Siamotyrannus fun facts for kids and Pedopenna surprising facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Europelta coloring pages.

Main image by  Miguel Alan Córdova Silva, Wikimedia Commons, License CC-BY-SA 4.0.

Second image by IJReid.