Kosmoceratops
Kosmoceratops richardsoni
Kosmoceratops richardsoni possuía o crânio mais ornamentado de qualquer dinossauro conhecido, com 15 chifres e projeções.
Kosmoceratops () is a genus of ceratopsid dinosaur that lived in North America about 76–75.9 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period. Specimens were discovered in Utah in the Kaiparowits Formation of the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument in 2006 and 2007, including an adult skull and postcranial skeleton and partial subadults. In 2010, the adult was made the holotype of the new genus and species Kosmoceratops richardsoni; the generic name means "ornate horned face", and the specific name honors Scott Richardson, who found the specimens. The find was part of a spate of ceratopsian discoveries in the early 21st century, and Kosmoceratops was considered significant due to its elaborate skull ornamentation.
Kosmoceratops had an estimated length of 4.5 m (15 ft) and a weight of 1.2 t (1.3 short tons). As a ceratopsid, it would have been quadrupedal with a heavily constructed skeleton. It had a triangular beak with a pointed tip and a blade-like nasal horn with a flattened upper portion. While the horns above the eyes were oriented forwards or hindwards in most of its relatives, the horns of Kosmoceratops pointed up and to the sides, then downwards, ending in pointed tips. The neck frill was short from front to back, with small parietal fenestrae (openings through the frill), and ten hook-like epiossifications on the hind margin, with eight curving forwards and two curving to the sides. With fifteen well-developed horns and horn-like structures, it possessed the most ornate skull of any known dinosaur species.…
- Família
- Ceratopsidae
- Ordem
- Ornithischia
- Período
- Cretaceous (76 Ma)
- Dieta
- Herbivore
- Comprimento
- 4.5 m
- Peso
- 1.2 tons
Fatos científicos
- Crânio mais ornamentado conhecido entre os dinossauros
- 15 chifres e projeções no crânio
- Nome significa "lagarto com chifres ornamentados"
- Viveu em ilha-continente isolada
- Gola curvada para baixo única entre ceratopsídeos
- Descoberto em área remota do Grand Staircase