Dracopelta
- Dracopelta zbyszewskii Galton, 1980
Dracopelta is a little-known genus of bird Beck dinosaur ( Ornithischia ) from the group of Ankylosauria. He is considered one of the oldest and most primitive members of this group.
Dracopelta was a very small Ankylar with an estimated 2 meters in length. So far, only individual vertebrae, ribs and bony plates ( osteoderms ) are of this dinosaur were found but that do not allow precise conclusions about the look. He had probably typical of the Ankylosauria physique with the burly, with bone plates armored body and short, sturdy limbs. Like all members of this group he may have fed on plants.
The fossil remains of Dracopelta were discovered in Portugal and first described in 1980. The name derives from the Latin draco ( = " Dragon" ) and the Greek πελτα / pelta ( = "shield" ). Only known type and therefore the type species is Dracopelta zbyszewskii. The finds are dated to the Upper Jurassic (Upper Kimmeridgian to Lower Tithonian ) to an age 155-147 million years.
Dracopelta regarded as primitive Ankylosauria and one of the few representatives of this group that are already handed down from the Jura. Because of sparse finds an exact systematic classification is not possible, this dinosaur is therefore performed as incertae sedis Ankylosauria.