STYRACOSAURUS ALBERTENSIS (OC)
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STYRACOSAURUS ALBERTENSIS
- meaning "spiked lizard" from the Ancient Greek styrax/στύραξ "spike at the butt-end of a spear-shaft" and sauros/σαῦρος "lizard") is an extinct genus of herbivorous dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian stage) of North America. It had four to six long parietal spikes extending from its neck frill, a smaller jugal horn on each of its cheeks, and a single horn protruding from its nose, which may have been up to 60 centimeters (2 feet) long and 15 centimeters (6 inches) wide. The function or functions of the horns and frills have been debated for many years.
- Styracosaurus was a relatively large dinosaur, reaching lengths of 5–5.5 metres (16–18 ft) and weighing about 1.8–2.7 metric tons (2.0–3.0 short tons). It stood about 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) tall. Styracosaurus possessed four short legs and a bulky body. Its tail was rather short. The skull had a beak and shearing cheek teeth arranged in continuous dental batteries, suggesting that the animal sliced up plants. Like other ceratopsians, this dinosaur may have been a herd animal, travelling in large groups, as suggested by bone beds.
- Named by Lawrence Lambe in 1913, Styracosaurus is a member of the Centrosaurinae. One species, S. albertensis, is currently assigned to Styracosaurus. Another species, S. ovatus, named in 1930 by Charles Gilmore was reassigned to a new genus, Rubeosaurus, by Andrew McDonald and Jack Horner in 2010, but it has been considered either its own genus or a species of Styracosaurus (or even a specimen of S. albertensis) again, since 2020.