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Ornatops

Name means: “ornate face”1

Ate: PlantsDuck-billsLate Cretaceous

Ornatops was a duck-billed dinosaur that lived in what is now New Mexico, USA, about 78 million years ago. It had a fancy, bumpy skull that may have supported a small crest. This plant-eater is the first crested brachylophosaurin found in the southern part of its range.1 2

Lived

84 to 72 million years ago4

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Menefee Formation, New Mexico, USA1 4

Food

Plants4

Length

up to 9.5 m3

largest known specimen

Weight

up to 4 tonnes3

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 2.5 cars

as long as 2 cars parked in a rowas long as 53 bananas end to endas heavy as 130 big dogsas heavy as 800 watermelons

How big was Ornatops compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Ornatops was discovered in 2018 by staff and volunteers from the Western Science Center, Zuni Dinosaur Institute for Geosciences, and Southwest Paleontological Society.1

Its scientific name Ornatops incantatus means 'ornate face' and 'enchanted', a nod to New Mexico's nickname 'Land of Enchantment'.1

The holotype skull has a unique pair of bumps on the nasofrontal suture, suggesting it had a small crest in life.1 2

Ornatops is the southernmost brachylophosaurin dinosaur ever found, showing these duck-billed dinosaurs were widespread across North America.2

The fossil includes a well-preserved skull, parts of the backbone, ribs, shoulder blade, arm bones, and hip bones.1

Scientists think Ornatops was an intermediate species between Probrachylophosaurus and Brachylophosaurus.1

AI-made picture of Ornatops — An AI-made picture of how Ornatops 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 Ornatops

?What did Ornatops eat?

Ornatops was a plant-eater, like other duck-billed dinosaurs. It likely ate tough plants with its wide beak and many cheek teeth.1

?How big was Ornatops?

Scientists do not know the exact size yet because the paper describing it only studied the skull. A future study of the rest of the skeleton will give more details.1

?When did Ornatops live?

Ornatops lived about 78 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous Period.1

?Where was Ornatops found?

Ornatops was found in the Menefee Formation of New Mexico, USA. It is the southernmost brachylophosaurin dinosaur ever discovered.1 2

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Ornatops
Named by: McDonald et al. 20214
Group: Duck-bills
Family / clade: Hadrosauridae4
Classification: Ornithischia > Ornithopoda > Iguanodontia > Hadrosauridae4
Age of the rocks: 84 to 72 million years (Campanian)4
Rock formations: Menefee4
Countries: USA4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Ornatops was discovered in 2018 in the Menefee Formation of New Mexico by a team from the Western Science Center, Zuni Dinosaur Institute for Geosciences, and Southwest Paleontological Society. It was named Ornatops incantatus in 2021 by McDonald and colleagues.1 2
Still debated: Scientists are not sure about the exact size and proportions of Ornatops because the original description focused only on the skull. A future study of the rest of the skeleton is planned.1

Where the facts come from

Ornatops (en.wikipedia.org)
A new brachylophosaurin (Dinosauria: Hadrosauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous Menefee Formation of New Mexico - PMC (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Ornatops incantatus | Dinosaur Database by DinoAnimals.com (dinoanimals.com)
Ornatops in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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