Crichtonpelta is a genus of ankylosaur from the Late Cretaceous of China. It originally was believed to be a second species of Crichtonsaurus, C. benxiensis. However, a study in 2014 determined that Crichtonsaurus was actually a dubius taxon, with Crichtonpelta becoming the official genus of the second species in 2015. There is a possibility that the even the remains of the first Crichtonsaurus species, C. bohlini, actually belong to Crichtonpelta. However, there are some differences between the two, so the distinction between them is currently very murky.
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Name
Due to Crichtonsaurus being relegated to a nomen dubium, Crichtonpelta was named for the same reason its predecesor was. It was named after Micheal Crichton, the author of the original Jurassic Park novels. This was because, according to the scientists, "dinosaurs became one of the most popular scientific subjects due to (his) book."