Antarctopelta

dinosaurs · Antarctica · armored · ancient

Covered in armor. Antarctopelta was an ankylosauur, which means it had a thick, bumpy skin covered with bony plates that protected it like a suit of armor. These plates helped keep it safe from other dinosaurs.

Big plant eater. This dinosaur walked on four strong legs and spent its days munching on plants in ancient Antarctica. It was a gentle giant that never hunted other animals.

From frozen lands. Antarctopelta lived on what is now James Ross Island in Antarctica during the Late Cretaceous period, millions of years ago when that frozen continent was much warmer.

One special fossil. Only one skeleton of Antarctopelta has ever been found, discovered in 1986 by Argentine scientists. This single discovery made it the very first dinosaur fossil ever named from Antarctica.

Named after a scientist. The dinosaur was officially named Antarctopelta oliveroi in 2006 to honor Eduardo Olivero, one of the scientists who first found it way back in 1986.