Xenoceratops

Xenoceratops is the oldest known ceratopsid dinosaur from Canada, living about 78 million years ago.2

Its name means 'alien horned face' because it was found in rocks that had not yielded horned dinosaur fossils before.2

The fossils were collected in 1958 by paleontologist Wann Langston Jr., but they sat in a museum for decades before scientists realized they belonged to a new species.1

Unlike Triceratops, Xenoceratops had spikes on its frill in addition to the two long brow horns.1

Xenoceratops was about 6 metres long and weighed more than 2 tons, about as heavy as a large rhinoceros.1

It lived in a subtropical environment in Alberta, which at that time had no snow or frost.1

Scientists think Xenoceratops is the most primitive centrosaurine, meaning it branched off early in the evolution of this group of horned dinosaurs.2