Dino card No. 1540 of 2,027

Regaliceratops

Say it: REG-uh-LEE-suh-TOPPS

Name means: “royal horned face”1

Ate: PlantsHorned dinosLate Cretaceous

Regaliceratops was a horned dinosaur that lived about 68 million years ago in what is now Alberta, Canada. It had a huge, crown-shaped frill on its head and a big nose horn, but only tiny horns above its eyes. Its nickname was 'Hellboy' because the skull was so hard to dig out of the rock!1 2

Lived

72 to 66 million years ago5

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Waldron Flats, Alberta, Canada5 1

Food

Plants5

Length

5 m1

Weight

2 tonnes1

Height

1.5 m3

at the hips

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How tall was it?

at the hips

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 1.5 cars

as long as 5 dogs nose to tailas long as 28 bananas end to endas heavy as 67 big dogsas heavy as 400 watermelonsup to the handle of a door

How big was Regaliceratops compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Regaliceratops had a big nose horn but very small horns above its eyes, which is the opposite of its close relative Triceratops.2

Its frill was shaped like a crown, with large bony bumps around the edge that looked like jewels.1 2

Scientists think Regaliceratops evolved its fancy frill and horns to show off to other dinosaurs, not just for fighting.2

The only known skull was found by a geologist named Peter Hews in 2005, sticking out of a cliff along the Oldman River.1

Regaliceratops lived in a warm, swampy environment with ferns, palms, and ginkgo trees.1

It was about 5 metres long and weighed as much as a small car, around 2 metric tons.1

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

?Why is Regaliceratops called Hellboy?

It was nicknamed 'Hellboy' because the skull was so hard to dig out of the rock and the horns above its eyes were very small, like the comic book character.1 4

?How big was Regaliceratops?

It was about 5 metres (16 feet) long and weighed around 2 metric tons (2.2 short tons), about as much as a small car.1

?What did Regaliceratops eat?

It was a plant-eater, like other horned dinosaurs. It lived in a warm, swampy environment with ferns, palms, and ginkgo trees.1

?When did Regaliceratops live?

It lived during the Late Cretaceous period, about 68.5 to 67.5 million years ago.1

?Where was Regaliceratops found?

Its skull was found in 2005 along the Oldman River in southwestern Alberta, Canada, by geologist Peter Hews.1

?Is Regaliceratops related to Triceratops?

Yes, it is a close relative of Triceratops, but it had a big nose horn and tiny horns above its eyes, which is the opposite of Triceratops.1 2

Ask Rex about Regaliceratops

Rex only answers questions about this page. 3 questions a day.

Rex is an AI and can make mistakes. He runs on servers in the EU and questions are never saved. Never type your name or other personal things.

Myth buster

Myth: Some people think all horned dinosaurs had big brow horns like Triceratops.

Truth: Regaliceratops had very small brow horns and a huge nose horn, showing that horned dinosaurs were very diverse.2

For dino experts

Scientific name: Regaliceratops
Named by: Brown and Henderson 20155
Group: Horned dinos
Family / clade: Ceratopsidae5
Classification: Ornithischia > Ceratopsia > Ceratopsidae5
Age of the rocks: 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)5
Rock formations: St. Mary River5
Countries: Canada5
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database5
Discovery: The skull was discovered in 2005 by geologist Peter Hews in Alberta, Canada. It was dug out in 2006 and 2008 by a team from the Royal Tyrrell Museum, and named Regaliceratops peterhewsi in 2015 by Caleb Brown and Donald Henderson.1 5
Still debated: Scientists are still debating exactly how Regaliceratops is related to other horned dinosaurs like Triceratops and Anchiceratops.2

Where the facts come from

Regaliceratops (en.wikipedia.org)
A New Horned Dinosaur Reveals Convergent Evolution in Cranial Ornamentation in Ceratopsidae: Current Biology (cell.com)
'Hellboy' dinosaur Regaliceratops peterhewsi with exotic facial horns and bony frill, unearthed in Canada - ABC News (abc.net.au)
Meet 'Hellboy,' the dinosaur with exotic horns and frill (reuters.com)
Regaliceratops in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

Rex is hungry! Dino Wiki is a dad's project for his dino-loving son, free with no ads. Grown-ups can feed Rex a snack to help keep it online.Feed Rex