Montanoceratops
Montanoceratops was a small, plant-eating dinosaur with a beak and a bony frill on its head. It lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous, about 72 million years ago. This dinosaur is part of a group called leptoceratopsids, which were like smaller cousins of the famous Triceratops.1
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Fun facts
Montanoceratops was first thought to be a species of Leptoceratops, but in 1951 it got its own genus name.1
The nose horn of Montanoceratops was actually a misidentified cheekbone, which fooled paleontologists for years.1
Montanoceratops lived alongside bigger horned dinosaurs, but it was smaller and had a deeper tail.1
Fossils of Montanoceratops have been found in rocks that are between 83.6 and 66 million years old.3
Montanoceratops is part of a group called leptoceratopsids, which were diverse and lived in the same habitats as the bigger ceratopsids.1
Most asked questions about Montanoceratops
?How big was Montanoceratops?
Montanoceratops was a small dinosaur, about 2.5 metres (8.2 feet) long and weighed around 170 kilograms (370 pounds).2
?What did Montanoceratops eat?
Montanoceratops was a herbivore, meaning it ate plants. It used its sharp beak to bite off leaves or needles.2
?Did Montanoceratops have a horn?
It was once thought to have a horn on its nose, but that bone was later identified as a misplaced cheek horn. So it did not have a nose horn.21
?Where did Montanoceratops live?
Montanoceratops lived in what is now Montana, USA, and Alberta, Canada, about 70 million years ago.2
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Myth buster
Myth: Montanoceratops had a prominent nose horn like some other horned dinosaurs.
Truth: The supposed nose horn was actually a misidentified cheekbone, so Montanoceratops likely did not have a nose horn.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Montanoceratops
- Named by
- Sternberg 19513
- Group
- Horned dinos
- Family / clade
- Leptoceratopsidae3
- Classification
- Ornithischia > Ceratopsia3
- Age of the rocks
- 84 to 66 million years (Campanian / Maastrichtian)3
- Rock formations
- St. Mary River, Horseshoe Canyon3
- Countries
- USA, Canada3
- Fossil records
- 3 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- Barnum Brown and Erich Schlaikjer described the first fossil in 1942, but they called it Leptoceratops cerorhynchos. In 1951, Charles M. Sternberg realized it was different and named it Montanoceratops.1
- Still debated
- Scientists still debate exactly how Montanoceratops is related to other horned dinosaurs, especially because some fossils were misidentified.1
Where the facts come from
- M is for Montanoceratops | National Geographic (nationalgeographic.com)
- Montanoceratops (en.wikipedia.org)
- Montanoceratops in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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