Spectacular horned dinosaur joins the club
A new relative of triceratops has unique horns and a spiked frill
A new relative of triceratops has unique horns and a spiked frill
Many kinds of horned dinosaurs roamed what is now western North America 85 to 66 million years ago. The most famous - and also the largest - was Triceratops, named for the three prominent horns on its face.
Now, a new species of horned dinosaur has been identified. Dr. Jordan Mallon, a paleontologist from The Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, identified the new species from 76-million-year-old fossils found in Montana's Judith River geological formation.
Nicknamed "Judith," this dinosaur had horns that stuck out sideways above the eyes, as well as numerous bony spikes on a frill at the back of the skull. "Judith" provides more evidence of the diversity of horned dinosaurs.
Related Links
- Paper in PLOS One
- Canadian Museum of Nature release
- Canadian Museum of Nature blog
- CBC News story
- The Guardian story