Navajoceratops
Navajoceratops was a horned dinosaur that lived in what is now New Mexico, USA, about 75 million years ago. It had a big frill on its head and a deep notch in the back of its skull that slowly closed up over time as the species evolved.2
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Fun facts
Navajoceratops is known from only a partial skull, including the back part of its frill called the parietal.1
It lived during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, between about 75.0 and 73.4 million years ago.2
Navajoceratops is a chasmosaurine ceratopsid, meaning it is closely related to famous horned dinosaurs like Triceratops.1
The deep notch in the back of its frill is a key feature that helps scientists understand how chasmosaurine dinosaurs evolved over time.2
Its fossils were found in the Hunter Wash Member of the Kirtland Formation in the San Juan Basin.2
Navajoceratops was named after the Navajo people, who are indigenous to the area where the fossils were discovered.1
Most asked questions about Navajoceratops
?What did Navajoceratops eat?
Navajoceratops was a herbivore, meaning it ate plants. It lived on the ground and likely fed on low-growing vegetation.5
?How big was Navajoceratops?
Scientists don't know its exact size because only a partial skull has been found. The skull parts suggest it was a medium-sized ceratopsian, but no full body length estimate is available.5
?When did Navajoceratops live?
Navajoceratops lived during the Late Cretaceous Period, about 75 to 73.4 million years ago, in what is now New Mexico, USA.15
?Why is it called Navajoceratops?
It is named after the Navajo people, who are indigenous to the area where the fossils were found. The name means 'Navajo horned face'.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Navajoceratops
- Named by
- Fowler and Freedman Fowler 20205
- Group
- Horned dinos
- Family / clade
- Ceratopsidae5
- Classification
- Ornithischia > Ceratopsia > Ceratopsidae5
- Age of the rocks
- 84 to 72 million years (Campanian)5
- Rock formations
- Kirtland5
- Countries
- USA5
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database5
- Discovery
- Navajoceratops was named in 2020 by Denver W. Fowler and Elizabeth A. Freedman Fowler. The holotype specimen was collected in 2002 by Robert M. Sullivan and others from the Kirtland Formation in New Mexico.12
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure whether Navajoceratops is a separate species or just a growth stage of another ceratopsian, because only a few bones have been found.2
Where the facts come from
- Navajoceratops (en.wikipedia.org)
- Transitional evolutionary forms in chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaurs: evidence from the Campanian of New Mexico (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Two new dinosaurs found in fossils at State Museum of Pennsylvania - pennlive.com (pennlive.com)
- Navajoceratops in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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