| Mymoorapelta Temporal range: Late Jurassic, Kimmeridgian–Tithonian |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | †Ornithischia |
| Suborder: | †Ankylosauria |
| Family: | †Nodosauridae |
| Genus: | †Mymoorapelta Kirkland et Carpenter, 1994 |
| Species: | †M. maysi |
| Binomial name | |
| Mymoorapelta maysi Kirkland et Carpenter, 1994 |
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Mymoorapelta ("Shield of Mygatt-Moore") is an ankylosaur from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian-Tithonian) Morrison Formation (Brushy Basin Member) of western Colorado. The taxon is known from portions of a disarticulated skull, parts of three different skeletons and other postcranial remains. Present in stratigraphic zones 4 and 5 of the Morrison Formation.[1]
There is presently some controversy as to this ankylosaur's position within the Ankylosauria. Vickaryous et al. (2004) considered it Ankylosauria incertae sedis, while Kirkland et Carpenter (1994) placed it within the Family Polacanthidae. A new cladistic analysis performed by Thompson et al., 2011 suggests that Mymoorapelta is a basal nodosaurid.[2] To date, only a single species has been named for this taxon, M. maysi. Along with Gargoyleosaurus parkpinorum, Mymoorapelta is one of the earliest known ankylosaurs, providing a look at the early evolution and diversification of this group of dinosaurs.