Kosmoceratops
Kosmoceratops was a horned dinosaur with the most decorated skull of any dinosaur ever found. It had a short, wide frill with ten forward-curving hooks on the back, making it look like a living crown. This plant-eater lived in what is now southern Utah, USA, about 76 million years ago.1
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Fun facts
Kosmoceratops had ten hook-like bones (epoccipitals) on the back edge of its frill, more than any other horned dinosaur.1
Its horns pointed out to the sides and then curved downward, like a sideways smile.1
Kosmoceratops lived at the same time and in the same place as another horned dinosaur called Utahceratops, which is rare for horned dinosaurs.1
The name Kosmoceratops comes from Greek words meaning 'ornate horned face' because of its fancy skull decorations.1
Its frill was short and wide, with a V-shaped notch at the back, unlike the long frills of many other horned dinosaurs.1
Kosmoceratops belonged to a group called chasmosaurines, which includes famous dinosaurs like Triceratops.1
Most asked questions about Kosmoceratops
?How big was Kosmoceratops?
Kosmoceratops was about 4.5 metres long and weighed about 1.2 tonnes, roughly the size of a rhinoceros.34
?What did Kosmoceratops eat?
It was a plant-eater, using its sharp beak and teeth to process fibrous plants. Fossilized dung with wood may have been left by ceratopsids like Kosmoceratops.3
?Why did Kosmoceratops have so many horns?
Scientists think the horns and frill were used for display, to attract mates, or to fight rivals of the same sex, not for defense against predators.5
?Was Kosmoceratops related to Triceratops?
Yes, Kosmoceratops was a chasmosaurine ceratopsid, making it a close relative of Triceratops.5
?Where did Kosmoceratops live?
It lived in what is now southern Utah, USA, about 76 million years ago, on the island continent of Laramidia.35
?When did Kosmoceratops live?
It lived during the Late Cretaceous period, about 76 to 75.9 million years ago.3
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Kosmoceratops
- Named by
- Sampson et al. 20106
- Group
- Horned dinos
- Family / clade
- Ceratopsidae6
- Classification
- Ornithischia > Ceratopsia > Ceratopsidae6
- Age of the rocks
- 84 to 72 million years (Campanian)6
- Rock formations
- Kaiparowits6
- Countries
- USA6
- Fossil records
- 2 in the Paleobiology Database6
- Discovery
- Kosmoceratops was named by paleontologist Scott Sampson and his team in 2010, based on fossils found in the Kaiparowits Formation of Utah.21
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure why Kosmoceratops had such an ornate frill with ten hooks. It may have been for attracting mates, scaring rivals, or recognizing its own kind.1
Where the facts come from
- New Horned Dinosaurs from Utah Provide Evidence for Intracontinental Dinosaur Endemism | PLOS One (journals.plos.org)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Kosmoceratops (en.wikipedia.org)
- Kosmoceratops - BYU Geology (geology.byu.edu)
- Amazing Horned Dinosaurs Unearthed on “Lost Continent” – UNews Archive (archive.unews.utah.edu)
- Kosmoceratops in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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