Genus
Valid Extinct

Ahshislepelta

Burns and Sullivan 2011

Ahshislepelta is a monospecific genus of ankylosaur dinosaur from New Mexico that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now the Hunter Wash Member of the Kirtland Formation. The type and only species, Ahshislepelta minor, is known only from an incomplete postcranial skeleton of a small subadult or adult individual. It was named in 2011 by Michael Burns and Robert M. Sullivan. Based on the size of the humerus, Ahshislepelta is larger than Pinacosaurus mephistocephalus but smaller than Talarurus and Pinacosaurus grangeri.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
1
Group
Dinosaures
Herbivore Ground dwelling, gregarious Terrestrial
Ahshislepelta
click to enlarge
Skeletal reconstruction of Ahshislepelta minor, a small ankylosaur from the Late Cretaceous Kirtland Formation of New Mexico. While originally recovered as an ankylosaurid related to Gastonia, later analyses favored a nodosaurid position which this is based on. Based on the holotype SMP VP-1930, consisting of fragmentary shoulder, forelimb, and vertebral elements as well as several osteoderms. Unknown material filled in using Niobrarasaurus, Pawpawsaurus, Silvisaurus, Sauropelta, and Borealopelta. Total length is approximately 4.9 m through the centra. Notes: Osteoderm placement somewhat speculative, not all osteoderms and vertebral fragments are figured. References: Burns & Sullivan, 2011. © Definitely NOT Dilophosaurus · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia
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Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
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Ornithischia Unranked clade
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Parapredentata Unranked clade
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Saphornithischia Unranked clade
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Prionodontia Unranked clade
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Genasauria Unranked clade
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Thyreophora Unranked clade
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Thyreophoroidea Superfamily
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Eurypoda Unranked clade
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Ankylosauria Unranked clade
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Euankylosauria Unranked clade
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Ankylosauridae Family
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Ahshislepelta Genus
Measurements
Length
4,8 m ⓘ
Ahshislepelta minor
Mass
1 000 kg ⓘ
Ahshislepelta minor
Fossil sites 1 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇺🇸 United States
1
Geological formations
Kirtland
1
Temporal distribution
Campanian (83.6–72.2 Ma)
1
Species (1)
Ahshislepelta minor 84 Ma
Images 2
Bibliography
Original description
M. E. Burns and R. M. Sullivan. 2011. A new ankylosaurid from the Upper Cretaceous Kirtland Formation, San Juan Basin, with comments on the diversity of ankylosaurids in New Mexico. Fossil Record 3. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 53:169-178
Bibliography (1)
M. E. Burns and R. M. Sullivan. 2011. A new ankylosaurid from the Upper Cretaceous Kirtland Formation, San Juan Basin, with comments on the diversity of ankylosaurids in New Mexico. Fossil Record 3. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 53:169-178