Montanoceratops

Montanoceratops fossil at the Royal Tyrrell Museum.

• North America

• M. cerorhynchus (Brown & Schlaikjer, 1942)

Montanoceratops is a genus of bird Beck dinosaur ( Ornithischia ) from the group of ceratopsians, within which he is expected to Leptoceratopsidae.

Features

With approximately 3 meters in length Montanoceratops was one of the greatest representatives of Leptoceratopsidae. His head was enlarged as in many Ceratopsia and characterized by the neck plate, which was formed from the parietal and squamosal. The snout is formed from the Rostralknochen and the Praedentale was narrow, the teeth adapted to a plant-based diet. The nasal bone was wearing a horn, similar to many Ceratopsidae.

Discovery and designation

The fossil remains of Montanoceratops were discovered in the U.S. state of Montana, and there are also finds from Alberta ( Canada). Brown and Schlaikjer described it in 1942, first as members of the genus Leptoceratops, until 1951 they classified Sternberg as a separate genus. Only known species is M. cerorhynchus. The genus name is derived from the locality (Montana) and the Greek keratops ( = " horn face" ), a common name component of the ceratopsians. The finds are (early Maastrichtian ) dated to the late Cretaceous in age 72-69 million years.

System

Montanoceratops is next Leptoceratops the best-known representatives of the Leptoceratopsidae, a spread in the Upper Cretaceous predominantly or even exclusively in North America dinosaur group.