Styracosaurus
Sign in to saveStyracosaurus ( ; meaning "spiked lizard" from the Ancient Greek / "spike at the butt-end of a spear-shaft" and / "lizard") is an extinct genus of herbivorous dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian stage) of North America. It had four to six long parietal spikes extending from its neck frill, a smaller jugal horn on each of its cheeks, and a single horn protruding from its nose, which may have been up to long and wide. The function or functions of the horns and frills have been debated for many years.
Article
11 sectionsContents
- Discoveries and species
- ''Styracosaurus ovatus''
- Description
- Classification
- Origins and evolution
- Paleobiology
- Dentition and diet
- Horns and frill
- Paleoecology
- Notes
- References
Styracosaurus ( ; meaning "spiked lizard" from the Ancient Greek / "spike at the butt-end of a spear-shaft" and / "lizard") is an extinct genus of herbivorous dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian stage) of North America. It had four to six long parietal spikes extending from its neck frill, a smaller jugal horn on each of its cheeks, and a single horn protruding from its nose, which may have been up to long and wide. The function or functions of the horns and frills have been debated for many years.
Styracosaurus was a relatively large dinosaur, reaching lengths of and weighing about . It stood about tall. Styracosaurus possessed four short legs and a bulky body. Its tail was rather short. The skull had a beak and shearing cheek teeth arranged in continuous dental batteries, suggesting that the animal sliced up plants. Like other ceratopsians, this dinosaur may have been a herd animal, travelling in large groups, as suggested by bone beds.