Sauropelta is a nodosaurid (a family from the anklyosaurian dinosaurs) from North America. Its name means 'lizard shield' because of its thick back armor. It is one of the best-understood nodosaurids thanks to prolific recovery of remains. Unlike others of its type, Sauropelta had a flat rather than domed skull. The layout of its back plates limited its neck, shoulder and upper tail movement.
Discovery
The holotype specimen for Sauropelta was collected as a partial skeleton from the Cloverly Formation in Big Horn County, Montana in the early 1930s. Other remains were recovered from nearby locations, and from the Cedar Mountain Formation in Utah. Fossilized footprints have also been found for Sauropelta.
Paleoecology
Sauropelta lived on floodplains formed around rivers that flowed into a shallow inland sea. The region was likely covered in forests of conifers and cycads.
