| Diet | Herbivore |
| Height | 1m |
| Length | 3m |
| Weight | 500 kg |
| Environment | Land |
| Era | Cretaceous |
| Period | Late Cretaceous |
| Type | Ankylosaur |
| Location | North America |
Ahshislepelta was a heavily armoured ankylosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 83.6 million years ago. This dinosaur roamed what is now New Mexico, in an area that would have been a warm, humid coastal plain dotted with rivers and lush vegetation. The name Ahshislepelta honours the Ahshislepah area where its fossils were discovered, with 'pelta' meaning shield in reference to its protective armour.
Like other ankylosaurs, Ahshislepelta was a quadrupedal herbivore built like a living tank. Its body was covered in bony plates and spikes that provided excellent protection from predators. Based on the incomplete skeleton found, scientists estimate it was a relatively small member of the ankylosaur family, measuring around 3 metres in length. The creature had a low-slung body, short legs, and would have moved slowly across the landscape as it browsed on low-growing plants.
Ahshislepelta fed on ferns, cycads, and early flowering plants that grew close to the ground. Its small head housed a beak-like mouth perfect for cropping vegetation, whilst rows of small teeth helped process tough plant material. The dinosaur's broad gut would have contained bacteria to help break down fibrous plant matter, much like modern herbivorous mammals.
What makes Ahshislepelta particularly interesting to palaeontologists is that it represents part of the diverse ankylosaur fauna that lived in the American Southwest during the Late Cretaceous. Its discovery helps scientists better understand how these armoured dinosaurs evolved and spread across North America before the mass extinction event that ended the age of dinosaurs.
Ahshislepelta was distinguished by its heavily armoured body covered in protective bony plates and spikes. As a relatively small ankylosaur, it had the characteristic low, broad build with short, sturdy legs and a tank-like appearance that made it well-suited for defence against predators.
Ahshislepelta likely lived a solitary or small group lifestyle, spending most of its time foraging for low-growing vegetation. When threatened by predators, it would have crouched down to protect its vulnerable underside, relying on its armoured back and sides for protection whilst potentially using its tail as a defensive weapon.
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Ornithischia |
| Family | Ankylosauridae |
| Genus | Ahshislepelta |
Ahshislepelta was first described by Michael Burns and Robert M. Sullivan in 2011. The original fossils were discovered at Hunter Wash Member of the Kirtland Formation, New Mexico, USA.
