Acantholipan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Acantholipan |
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Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | †Ornithischia |
| Family: | †Nodosauridae |
| Genus: | †Acantholipan Rivera-Sylva et al, 2018 |
| Type species | |
| †Acantholipan gonzalezi Rivera-Sylva et al, 2018
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Acantholipan (pronounced "uh-KAN-thoh-LY-pan") was a fascinating dinosaur that lived a long, long time ago. Imagine a walking tank covered in tough armor – that's a bit like Acantholipan! This dinosaur was a large, plant-eating creature that walked on four legs. Its name means "spiny shield from the Lipan people," referring to the Lipan Apache, a native group from the area where its fossils were found.
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What was Acantholipan?
Acantholipan was a type of dinosaur known as an Ankylosaur. Ankylosaurs are famous for their incredibly strong body armor. Think of them as the armored vehicles of the dinosaur world! They were built low to the ground and had wide bodies, making them very stable.
When and Where it Lived
Acancantholipan lived during the Late Cretaceous period. This was about 83.6 million years ago. At that time, the Earth looked very different from today. Its fossils were discovered in Coahuila, a state in northern Mexico. This area was likely a warm, humid place with lots of plants for dinosaurs to eat.
Its Amazing Armor
One of the coolest things about Acantholipan was its armor. Like other ankylosaurs, its skin was covered with bony plates called osteoderms. These were like built-in shields, protecting it from predators. Some of these plates might have had spikes, making it even harder for meat-eating dinosaurs to attack. This armor was its main defense.
What it Ate
Acantholipan was a herbivore, which means it ate plants. With its strong, wide body, it likely spent its days munching on low-growing ferns, cycads, and other plants. Its teeth were probably small and leaf-shaped, perfect for grinding up tough plant material.
How Big Was It?
While we don't have a complete skeleton of Acantholipan, scientists estimate it was a medium-sized ankylosaur. It was likely several meters long, maybe around 3.5 meters (about 11.5 feet). This would make it roughly the size of a small car. Its heavy armor would have made it quite weighty.
Discovery and Taxonomy
The only known species of this dinosaur is Acantholipan gonzalezi. Scientists found its fossils in Coahuila, Mexico. The first description of Acantholipan was published in 2018 by a team of paleontologists led by Rivera-Sylva. The discovery of Acantholipan is important because it helps us understand more about the dinosaurs that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous period. It also shows that armored dinosaurs were present in what is now Mexico.
Studying Fossils
When scientists find fossils, they carefully dig them up. Then, they clean and study them in a lab. By looking at the bones and armor plates, they can learn a lot. They can figure out what the dinosaur looked like, what it ate, and how it lived. Each new fossil helps us piece together the puzzle of Earth's ancient past.
See also
In Spanish: Acantholipan gonzalezi para niños
