Ziapelta
Named after the Zia sun symbol, the stylized sun emblem of the Zia Pueblo people of New Mexico, where the fossil was found, combined with Greek 'pelta' meaning 'small shield', referring to its ankylosaur armor.
Ziapelta is an extinct genus of ankylosaurid. Its fossils have been found in the Hunter Wash and De-na-zin members of the Kirtland Formation of Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) New Mexico. It was named in 2014, in a research paper led by ankylosaur researcher Victoria Arbour. There is a single species in the genus, Ziapelta sanjuanensis. The genus is named after the Zia sun symbol, a stylized sun with four groups of rays, having religious significance to the Zia people of New Mexico, and the iconic symbol on the state flag of New Mexico, and pelta (Latin), a small shield, in reference to the osteoderms found on all ankylosaurids. The specific name is in reference to San Juan County and the San Juan basin, where the fossils were found. Multiple specimens have been described to date, though the fossils are mostly from the front part of the animal. Its closest relative appears to be either Scolosaurus or Nodocephalosaurus, depending on what cladistic model is used.
Diagnosis
- Prominent, large, sub-triangular median nasal caputegulum
- Dorsoventrally deep squamosal horns curved anteriorly at the tips
- Three deep fossae on the ventral surface of the basicranium
- Mixture of flat and weakly bulbous frontonasal caputegulae
Species
Ziapelta sanjuanensis Arbour et al., 2014
Type species
Named for San Juan County and the San Juan Basin in New Mexico, USA, where the fossils were discovered.
- Holotype
- NMMNH P-64484 , New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
- Material
- Complete skull, left side of first cervical half ring, fragmentary second cervical half ring, and numerous fragmentary postcranial osteoderms
- Horizon
- De-na-zin Member, Kirtland Formation, Campanian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–72.2 million years ago
- Locality
- NMMNH L-8514, New Mexico, United States
References
- Arbour, V. M.; Burns, M. E.; Sullivan, R. M.; Lucas, S. G.; Cantrell, A. K.; Fry, J.; Suazo, T. L. (2014). A New Ankylosaurid Dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous (Kirtlandian) of New Mexico with Implications for Ankylosaurid Diversity in the Upper Cretaceous of Western North America. PLoS ONE 9(9): e108804. Public Library of Science (PLoS). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0108804 arbour2014a
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Paul, G. S. (2024). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (3rd ed.). Princeton University Press.
Source of the body length and mass estimates, and the appearance features.
paul2024a