Medusaceratops
Medusaceratops was a horned dinosaur that lived about 80 million years ago. It had a big frill on its head with curved spikes that looked like the snakes of Medusa from Greek myths. This plant-eater roamed what is now Montana, USA.12
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Fun facts
Medusaceratops was first thought to be a different dinosaur called Albertaceratops, but later scientists realized it was a new species.2
Its frill had at least five pairs of bony bumps called epiparietals, including a large hooked spike on each side.2
The Mansfield bonebed where Medusaceratops was found contains many skeletons of this dinosaur, suggesting they lived in herds.2
Medusaceratops is one of the oldest known centrosaurine ceratopsids, a group of horned dinosaurs with big nose horns.2
Most asked questions about Medusaceratops
?How big was Medusaceratops?
About 6 metres (20 feet) long, based on a 2010 estimate.4
?What did Medusaceratops eat?
It was a plant-eater, so it ate plants like ferns and leaves.4
?When did Medusaceratops live?
It lived about 77.5 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period.4
?Why is it called Medusaceratops?
Its name means 'Medusa's horned face' because its frill spikes looked like the snake hair of Medusa from Greek myths.4
?Was Medusaceratops a dinosaur?
Yes, it was a horned dinosaur, a type of ceratopsian.4
?Where was Medusaceratops found?
Its fossils were found in Montana, USA, in the Judith River Formation.4
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Medusaceratops
- Named by
- Ryan et al. 20105
- Group
- Horned dinos
- Family / clade
- Ceratopsidae5
- Classification
- Ornithischia > Ceratopsia > Ceratopsidae5
- Age of the rocks
- 84 to 72 million years (Campanian)5
- Rock formations
- Judith River5
- Countries
- USA5
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database5
- Discovery
- Medusaceratops was named by Michael Ryan, Anthony Russell, and Scott Hartman in 2010 based on fossils from the Judith River Formation in Montana.15
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure whether Medusaceratops was a chasmosaurine or a centrosaurine ceratopsid, because its frill has features of both groups.2
Where the facts come from
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- New material and systematic re-evaluation of Medusaceratops lokii (Dinosauria, Ceratopsidae) from the Judith River Formation (Campanian, Montana) (cambridge.org)
- New horned dinosaur: Two-ton plant-eater lived 78 million years ago in Montana | ScienceDaily (sciencedaily.com)
- Medusaceratops - Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
- Medusaceratops in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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