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A new species of dinosaur has been discovered in Southern Alberta.
One of the oldest relatives of Triceratops, the best-known horned dinosaur, had an elaborate bony collar frill ringed by forward-curling hook-like horns.
The newly discovered specimen, Wendiceratops pinhornensis, is also thought to have had a prominent upright nose horn and horns above each eye.
Wendiceratops, which measured around 20 feet and weight more than a ton, lived some 79 million years ago.
It is one of the oldest known members of the Ceratopsidae family of horned dinosaurs that includes Triceratops.
Researcher Dr David Evans, from the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada, said: “Wendiceratops helps us understand the early evolution of skull ornamentation in an iconic group of dinosaurs characterised by their horned faces ..
“The number of gnarly frill projections and horns makes it one of the most striking horned dinosaurs ever found.”
More than 200 Wendiceratops bones were uncovered at a site in southern Alberta, Canada, belonging to at least four individuals – three adults and one juvenile.
The dinosaur’s name, meaning “Wendy’s horned face”, celebrates renowned Alberta fossil hunter Wendy Sloboda who discovered the bone-bed site in 2010.
A description of Wendiceratops appears in the online journal Public Library of Science ONE.
Agencies/Canadajournal
