Ahshislepelta minor

†Ahshislepelta minor was a small nodosaurid ankylosaur from the Late Cretaceous (~74 Ma) of New Mexico, USA. A quadrupedal herbivore armored with osteoderms but lacking a tail club, it was named by Burns and Sullivan in 2011. Found in the Kirtland Formation, it is one of the smaller ankylosaurs known from North America, reaching an estimated 3-4m in length.

Diet & Feeding

Herbivore

Ahshislepelta minor was a plant-eating dinosaur. Herbivores typically fed on ferns, cycads, conifers, and other vegetation available during their era. Many herbivorous dinosaurs developed specialized teeth and digestive systems for processing tough plant material.

Time Period

Cretaceous Late Mesozoic Era

Ahshislepelta minor lived during the Cretaceous Late period of the Mesozoic Era, approximately 100.5 to 66.0 million years ago.

The final age of dinosaurs, featuring iconic species like Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, and Velociraptor. Dinosaurs reached their peak diversity before the catastrophic asteroid impact at the Chicxulub crater ended the Mesozoic Era.