New armored dinosaur species found in Spain

Palaeontologists have uncovered a new species of tank-like dinosaur in a century-old Spanish coal mine.

Earlier this week researchers unveiled two separate armoured dinosaurs discovered in the mine near the town of Arino in north eastern Spain [Credit: Fundacion Conjunlo Palaeontologica de Teruel-Dinopolis (FCPTD]

The species was discovered after two incredibly-well preserved dinosaurs were unearthed near the town of Arino in north eastern Spain.

The armored dinosaurs are believed to have been around five meters long, a meter tall and two tons in weight.

The specimens initially appeared to belong to a sub-species of armored dinosaur in the Ankylosauria group, but there were some key differences.

Europelta carbonensis is part of the nodosauridae family which were around during the Late Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous Period in North America, Asia, Antarctica and Europe [Credit: Fundacion Conjunlo Palaeontologica de Teruel-Dinopolis (FCPTD]

For instance, Ankylosaurs have triangular heads, whereas these dinosaurs were found to have a rounded, tear-drop-shaped skull as well as a strongly arched pelvis.

Describing their research in the journal PLOS One, researchers named the species Europelta carbonensis, which means ‘Europe’s shield from coal’.

Europelta carbonensis is part of the nodosauridae family which were around during the Late Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous Period in North America, Asia, Antarctica and Europe.

The Europelta carbonensis is estimated to have lived 113 million and 110 million years ago during the Cretaceous period, making it the oldest nodosaurid discovered in Europe [Credit: Fundacion Conjunlo Palaeontologica de Teruel-Dinopolis (FCPTD]

The Europelta carbonensis is estimated to have lived 113 million and 110 million years ago during the Cretaceous period, making it the oldest nodosaurid discovered in Europe.

Like other dinosaurs in the nodosauridae family, Europelta was a plant-eater and was covered in scaly armoured plates.

Before the nodosaurid ankylosaurs, their ancestors - polacanthid ankylosaurs - were the main armoured dinosaurs in both Europe and North America.

Artistic reconstruction of Europelta carbonensis [Credit: Fundacion Conjunlo
Palaeontologica de Teruel-Dinopolis (FCPTD]

James Kirkland, the lead research from the University of Utah, claims that the European nodosaurids differed from those in North America.

‘By 113 million years ago nodosaurid ankylosaurs have completely replaced them on both continents, yet are represented by distinctly different subfamilies on both continents,' he said.

As Europelta is closely related to other nodosaurs in Europe, the new finding suggests that Europe had become isolated from North America around 110 million years ago - rather than the 80 million years that many suggest.