Sierraceratops
Sierraceratops was a medium-sized horned dinosaur that lived in what is now New Mexico, USA. It had short but massive brow horns and a long frill with big holes in it. This plant-eater was a cousin of the famous Triceratops.1
When did it live?
How big was it?
How long was it?
How tall was it?
at the hips
How heavy was it?
as long as 6 dogs nose to tail🍌as long as 31 bananas end to endas heavy as 100 dogs🍉as heavy as 400 watermelons🎒as heavy as 2.5 whole school classes of kids🐻❄️as heavy as 4 polar bears🏃could run 100 metres in 10 seconds (the fastest human needs 9.6)How big was Sierraceratops compared to YOU?
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How fast was it?
Fun facts
Sierraceratops was first thought to be a Torosaurus, but scientists later realized it was a new species.1
Its fossils were discovered in 1997 by geologist Gregory H. Mack on a ranch owned by Ted Turner, founder of CNN.1
The frill of Sierraceratops had large holes called parietal fenestrae, separated by an oval-shaped bar of bone.1
Sierraceratops lived about 72 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period.1
It was a chasmosaurine ceratopsid, part of a group of horned dinosaurs that lived in the southern part of ancient Laramidia.1
The name Sierraceratops honors Sierra County in New Mexico, where the fossils were found.1
Most asked questions about Sierraceratops
?How big was Sierraceratops?
About 4.5 metres (15 feet) long. Its skull was about 1.5 metres (5 feet) long.3
?What did Sierraceratops eat?
It was a plant-eater, like other horned dinosaurs. It ate plants with its beak and cheek teeth.3
?When did Sierraceratops live?
About 72 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period.1
?Is Sierraceratops a dinosaur?
Yes, it is a dinosaur. It is a type of horned dinosaur called a ceratopsian.1
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Myth buster
Myth: Sierraceratops was just a young Torosaurus.
Truth: Sierraceratops is a distinct genus with a different frill shape and older age than Torosaurus.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Sierraceratops
- Named by
- Dalman et al. 20224
- Group
- Horned dinos
- Family / clade
- Ceratopsidae4
- Classification
- Ornithischia > Ceratopsia > Ceratopsidae4
- Age of the rocks
- 84 to 66 million years (Campanian / Maastrichtian)4
- Rock formations
- Hall Lake4
- Countries
- USA4
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- Fossils of Sierraceratops were first found in 1997 by geologist Gregory H. Mack on Ted Turner's ranch in New Mexico. The species was named and described in 2022 by Dalman and colleagues.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are still debating exactly how Sierraceratops is related to other horned dinosaurs like Bravoceratops and Coahuilaceratops.12
Where the facts come from
- Sierraceratops (en.wikipedia.org)
- Sierraceratops turneri, a new chasmosaurine ceratopsid from the Hall Lake Formation (Upper Cretaceous) of south-central New Mexico - the University of Bath's research portal (researchportal.bath.ac.uk)
- New “lost relative” of Triceratops found in New Mexico (bath.ac.uk)
- Sierraceratops in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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Triceratops
Protoceratops
Ojoceratops
Tatankaceratops
Psittacosaurus
Centrosaurus
Tyrannosaurus
Velociraptor
Spinosaurus
Ankylosaurus
Parasaurolophus
Pteranodon