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Bisticeratops

Name means: “Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness horned face”1

Ate: PlantsHorned dinosLate Cretaceous

Bisticeratops was a horned dinosaur that lived in what is now New Mexico, USA, about 74 million years ago. It had a big skull with a beak and horns on its face. It walked on four legs and ate plants.1 3

Lived

84 to 72 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, San Juan Basin, northwestern New Mexico, USA1 2

Food

Plants3

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

The name Bisticeratops comes from the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness where its skull was found.1

Its species name, froeseorum, honors Edgar Froese and his son Jerome, musicians from the band Tangerine Dream.1

The only known fossil is a nearly complete skull, about 175 cm long.2

Bisticeratops lived about 74 million years ago, which is 2 million years later than its relative Pentaceratops.1 2

Scientists first thought the skull belonged to Pentaceratops, but later realized it was a new dinosaur.1

Bisticeratops had a stepped margin on its snout, which is a unique feature not seen in other horned dinosaurs.2

AI-made picture of Bisticeratops — An AI-made picture of how Bisticeratops might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Bisticeratops

?How big was Bisticeratops?

It is known only from a partial skull that is 175 cm (about 5.7 feet) long. The full body size is not known for sure.1

?What did Bisticeratops eat?

It ate plants. It had a beak and teeth for chewing tough plant material.1

?Was Bisticeratops a dinosaur?

Yes, Bisticeratops was a horned dinosaur, specifically a chasmosaurine ceratopsian.1

?Why is it called Bisticeratops?

The name means 'Bisti horned face' after the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness in New Mexico where its skull was found.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Bisticeratops
Named by: Dalman et al. 20223
Group: Horned dinos
Family / clade: Ceratopsidae3
Classification: Ornithischia > Ceratopsia > Ceratopsidae3
Age of the rocks: 84 to 72 million years (Campanian)3
Rock formations: Kirtland3
Countries: USA3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: The skull was found in 1975 by a University of Arizona field party in the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, New Mexico. It was named Bisticeratops froeseorum by Dalman and colleagues in 2022.1 2
Still debated: Scientists are still debating exactly how Bisticeratops is related to other horned dinosaurs like Pentaceratops and Triceratops.2

Where the facts come from

Bisticeratops (en.wikipedia.org)
A new chasmosaurine ceratopsid from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Farmington Member of the Kirtland Formation, New Mexico (researchgate.net)
Bisticeratops in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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