Antarctopelta ( ; meaning 'Antarctic shield') was a
genus of
ankylosaurian dinosaur with one known
species,
A. oliveroi, which lived in
Antarctica during the Late
Cretaceous Period. It was a medium-sized ankylosaur, reaching no more than 4 meters (13 ft) in length, and showed characteristics of two different families, making more precise classification difficult. The single known
fossil specimen was discovered on
James Ross Island in 1986, constituting the first dinosaur remains ever discovered on Antarctica, although it is the second dinosaur from the continent to be formally named.