Cedarpelta is an extinct genus of herbivorous basal ankylosaurid ankylosaur, based on material recovered from the Lower Cretaceous of North America. The skull lacks extensive cranial ornamentation, a trait which has been interpreted as plesiomorphic for ankylosaurs.
Contents[]
- 1Discovery
- 1.1Holotype
- 2Description
- 3Phylogenetics
- 4See also
- 5References
Discovery[edit][]
In 1990, Sue Ann Bilbey and Evan Hall discovered a quarry with the remains of ankylosaurs near the Price River in Carbon County, Utah. In 1998, the discovery was reported in the scientific literature.[1] In 2001, the type species Cedarpelta bilbeyhallorum was named and described by Kenneth Carpenter, James Kirkland, Donald Burge and John Bird. The scientific name means "Bilbey and Hall's Cedar (Mountain) shield," with the genus named for the Cedar Mountain Formation and the animal's armored plates — from the Greek pelte, "small shield" — and the specific name honouring Sue Ann Bilbey and Evan Hall as the discoverers of the type locality.[2]
Cedarpelta is known from remains recovered at the CEM and Price River II quarries (PR-2) in eastern Utah; these sites were originally thought to be within the Ruby Ranch Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, but are now assigned to the base of the overlying Mussentuchit Member, dating to between 116 and 109 million years old (approximately the Aptian-Albian boundary).[3]
Holotype[edit][]
Carpenter et alii (2001) designated CEUM 12360 as the holotype specimen of Cedarpelta bilbeyhallorum (CEUM is the acronym of the College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum in Price, Utah). CEUM 12360 consists of an articulated, incomplete skull lacking the snout and mandibles. Carpenter et al. (2001) also designated a long list of paratype material, mostly isolated bones that could be referred to Cedarpelta bilbeyhallorum.[2]
In 2008, Carpenter e.a. referred additional material found in Emery County. This includes previously unknown hindlimb elements.[3]
Gallery[]
