Fun Peloroplites Facts For Kidspri

The Peleroplites cedrimontanus belongs to the genus of Nodosaurid armored dinosaurs and lived during the lower Cretaceous period which was about 122.46-109 million years ago in the present area range of Utah, the United States of America.

The fossils of this species were found from the base of the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, which was deposited during the Albian-Cenomanian boundary, around 104.46-98.37 million years ago, and was found in the Emery County of Utah. The fossils that were discovered were a partial skull, and parts of postcranial remains.

The dinosaur species was named by Kenneth Carpenter and his fellow researchers. The Peleroplites cedrimontanus was found in a mudstone area and in that same quarry, there were also fossils of a turtle, a pterosaur, and four individuals of a new Brachiosaurid sauropod.

Scroll down to read about this Lower Cretaceous dinosaur Peleroplites cedrimontanus's life, what they fed on, their habits, and other exciting details! And for more relevant content, read our Caviramus facts and Tupuxuara facts for kids.

Peloroplites Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Peloroplites'?

The name Peloroplites should be pronounced as Pe-lo-ro-ply-tes.

What type of dinosaur was a Peloroplites?

The Peleroplites cedrimontanus belongs to the genus of Nodosaurid armored dinosaurs and was a herbivorous robust dinosaur. The fossils of this species were found from the base of the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, which was deposited during the Albian-Cenomanian boundary, around 98-104 million years ago, and was found in the Emery County of Utah.

In which geological period did the Peloroplites roam the earth?

It lived during the Lower Cretaceous period which was about 109-122 million years ago in the present area of Utah, the United States of America.

When did the Peloroplites become extinct?

Dinosaurs, in general, went extinct almost 65 million years ago, that is, at the end of the Cretaceous period, after living on the earth for about 165 million years.

But this species existed about 109-122 million years ago and the fossil remains were found from the base of the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, which was deposited during the Albian-Cenomanian boundary, around 98-104 million years ago.

Where did a Peloroplites live?

This medium-sized dinosaur was a herbivore and therefore resided in areas with forests or dense vegetation for their diet. They weren't tall and therefore chose areas that had smaller trees and bushes so that they can reach. They stayed in robust areas with a lot of plants and bushes in the area of present-day Utah, USA.

What was a Peloroplites' habitat?

This nodosaurids species was lived in the area of Utah, USA, and the fossil remains were found from the base of the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, which was deposited during the Albian-Cenomanian boundary, around 98-104 million years ago.

Who did a Peloroplites live with?

Fossil evidence points out from both the bone bed and trackways that sauropods were gregarious animals who lived and moved in herds. Mostly all nodosaurid dinosaurs stayed in herds to protect themselves from predators.

How long did a Peloroplites live?

There isn't a definite time frame of the life span but it has been estimated that they lived for almost 60-75 years like other Nodosaurids and Ankylosaurs.

How did they reproduce?

Ankylosaurs, much like other reptiles, mated with each other during the breeding season and in the case of this breed, the female dinosaur laid eggs. The eggs hatch after a certain period of time and newborn dinosaurs came out.

The adult dinosaurs took care of the newborns till they could move with their parents or go along with their new family.

Peloroplites Fun Facts

What did a Peloroplites look like?

The fossils of the Peloroplites were found from the base of the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, which was deposited during the Albian-Cenomanian boundary. The fossils found at the base of the Cedar mountain were a partial skull and partial postcranial remains.

The skull that was found measured to be 22 in (55.8 cm) long, and 14 in (35.6 cm) wide between the eyes. It didn't have any teeth in the beak and had smaller horn-like projections.

The skull top had a slight dome shape and the upper cheek tooth that was preserved was somewhat large and similar to the one assigned to Priconodon. The lower jaws of the dinosaur had rear halves and were heavily built.

The postcranial partial remains had bones from all over the skeleton and there were six fused vertebrae that supported the dinosaur. This skeleton was similar to the Silvisaurus.

The ilia which is the largest bone of the hip in the skeleton, was flared up unusually, which was unlike other nodosaurids. The skeleton had partial remains from all over the body except the hind legs.

The ulna of the dinosaur was elongated and straight while the major ankle bone wasn't fused to the hip. The Peloroplites had a large and robust jaw which means they consumed tougher forage than other Ankylosaurs.

How many bones did a Peloroplites have?

The total number of bones has not been mentioned for this dinosaur as still parts of it are missing and only after a proper number of fossils are found, can it be counted out at large in order to assume the number of bones in the skeleton.

How did they communicate?

There is no specific mention on how they communicated as it is quite difficult to find, but they definitely didn't have modern means of communication. Like any other animal, dinosaurs also communicated by making sounds and using their body language. They might have included hoots and hollers to communicate as well.

How big was a Peloroplites?

The size of the dinosaur was 197-216 in (5-5.5 m) in length, which makes it about two times bigger than the African bush elephant which is 288-312 in (7.3-7.9 m) in length.

How fast could a Peloroplites move?

Being quadrupedal, this species was quite fast. Not nearly as fast as predators but enough to move around quickly.

How much did a Peloroplites weigh?

The Peloroplites weighed about 9920.8 lb (4500 kg), which makes it almost eight times heavier than the wild boar, which weighs 176-386 lb (80-175 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

There is no specific name for the male or female dinosaurs of this species and are commonly known as Peloroplites cedrimontanus or Pelorplites. Search for the rest of the fossils is still going on and only after the complete discovery of the significant fossils can it be differentiated.

What would you call a baby Peloroplites?

The newborn dinosaur was known as hatchling or nestling. This was common for most dinosaur species. There is no specific information on the names of newborns for this dinosaur as of now.

What did they eat?

The Peloroplites diet consisted of plants and fruits found in the jungles and woodlands. They weren't tall and therefore chose areas that had smaller plants and bushes so that they can reach. They consumed food like small plants and plant material had large and robust teeth which means they consumed tougher forage than other Ankylosaurs like the Cedarpelta.

How aggressive were they?

Based on research, dinosaurs are divided into two groups where the sauropods are herbivores and don't attack each other or other dinosaurs while the theropods were meat-eaters and attacked each other and the other dinosaurs as well. This species being a sauropod was quite friendly and wasn't aggressive at all. They stayed together in harmony with other sauropod dinosaurs.

Did you know...

Peloroplites are quite comparable in size to Sauropelta, which is a nodosaurid from the Cretaceous period as well, but it was excavated from the Cloverly Formation of Wyoming.

What does the name 'Peloroplites' mean?

The name Peloroplites was given by Kenneth Carpenter and his fellow researchers. The meaning of the name stems from the Greek words Pelor meaning monstrous and hoplites meaning armored soldier. Therefore the term Peloroplites means monstrous armored soldier.

What continent did the Peloroplites live on?

The Peloroplites origins were found in the range of present-day Utah, the United States of America. But even though present-day geographical locations of the world are quite different now, during the time of the dinosaurs, the land was different.

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 Prosaurolophus interesting facts or Metriorhynchus facts for kids.

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

Both images by Jens Lallensack.