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Styracosaurus

Spiked lizard

Dinosaurs
More about Dinosaurs►
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Table of Contents
  • Anatomy
  • When Styracosaurus Lived
  • Behavior
  • Intelligence
  • Diet
  • Locomotion
  • Discovery of Fossils
  • Classification

Anatomy

Styracosaurus Styracosaurus was a dinosaur that walked on four short legs. This large plant-eater had a six-spiked frill projecting from the back of its skull. It also had an upward-pointing horn on its nose (2 feet (60 cm) long and 6 inches (15 cm) wide), and two small horns above its eyes. These spikes and the horn probably provided protection from predators, and were possibly used in mating rituals and rivalry. It had a short, thick, pointed tail, a large, bulky body, a large skull and a beak. Styracosaurus hatched from eggs.

Styracosaurus was about 18 feet (5 m) long, 6 feet (1.8 m) tall, and weighed up to 3 tons.

When Styracosaurus Lived

Styracosaurus lived in the late Cretaceous period, about 77-70 million years ago. It was among the last of the dinosaur species to evolve before the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction 65 million years ago. Among the contemporaries of Styracosaurus were Tyrannosaurus rex, Ankylosaurus (an armored herbivore), Corythosaurus (a crested dinosaur), and Dryptosaurus (a meat-eating dinosaur).

Behavior

Styracosaurus may have been a herding animal, like some other ceratopsians. This hypothesis is supported by the finding of bone beds, large deposits of bones of the same species in an area. Styracosaurus hatched from eggs, and the young may have been cared for by parents.

When threatened by predators, Styracosaurus may have charged into its enemy like a modern-day rhinoceros does. This would have been a very effective defense.

Intelligence

Styracosaurus was a ceratopsian, whose intelligence (as measured by its relative brain to body weight, or EQ) was intermediate among the dinosaurs.

EQ

Diet

Styracosaurus probably ate cycads, palms, and other prehistoric plants with its tough beak. It could also chew well with its cheek teeth (like other ceratopsians, but unlike most other dinosaurs).

Locomotion

Styracosaurus Styracosaurus walked on four short legs; it may have been a relatively fast dinosaur, perhaps running at up to 20 mph (32 kph). Dinosaur speeds are estimated using their morphology (characteristics like leg length and estimated body mass) and fossilized trackways.

Discovery of Fossils

Styracosaurus was named in 1913 by L. M. Lambe from a fossil found near Alberta, Canada. Fossils have been found in the USA and Canada. A bonebed of about 100 Styracosaurus fossils was found in Arizona, USA, indicating that they travelled in herds.

Classification

Styracosaurus was a late ornithischian dinosaur, the order of bird-hipped, herbivorous dinosaurs. It was a member of the suborder Marginocephalia, and of the family of large, horned, frilled, herding herbivores, the ceratopsians. The ceratopsians were one of the last major groups of dinosaurs to evolve, and include Psittacosaurus, Leptoceratops, Pachyrhinosaurus, Montanoceratops, Chasmosaurus, Centrosaurus, Triceratops, Styracosaurus, Protoceratops, and others.

Other Dinosaur Information Sheets

Just click on an animal’s name to go to that information sheet. If the dinosaur you’re interested in isn’t here, check the Dinosaur Dictionary or the list of Dinosaur Genera.

How to write a great dinosaur report.

Names with an asterisk (*) were not dinosaurs.

Acanthopholis Homalocephale Pteranodon*
Acrocanthosaurus Hypacrosaurus Pterodactyloids*
Albertosaurus Hylaeosaurus Pterodactylus*
Allosaurus Hypsilophodon Pterosaurs*
Amargasaurus Ichthyosaurs* Quaesitosaurus
Ammonite* Iguanodon Quetzalcoatlus*
Anatotitan Janenschia Rhamphorhynchus*
Ankylosaurus Kentrosaurus Riojasaurus
Apatosaurus Kronosaurus* Saltopus
Archaeopteryx* Lambeosaurus Saurolophus
Archelon* Lesothosaurus Sauropelta
Avimimus Maiasaura Scelidosaurus
Baryonyx Majungatholus Scipionyx
Brachiosaurus Mamenchisaurus Seismosaurus
Brontosaurus Massospondylus Sinornithosaurus
Camarasaurus Megalosaurus Sinosauropteryx
Camptosaurus Megaraptor Spinosaurus
Carcharodontosaurus Microvenator Stegoceras
Caudipteryx Minmi Stegosaurus
Ceratosaurus Monoclonius Styracosaurus
Chasmosaurus Montanoceratops Suchomimus
Coelophysis Mosasaurs* Supersaurus
Compsognathus Mussaurus Syntarsus
Corythosaurus Nothosaurs* Thecodontosaurus
Deinonychus Notoceratops Torvosaurus
Dilophosaurus Ornitholestes Triceratops
Diplodocus Ornithomimus Trilobite*
Dimetrodon* Othnielia Tröodon
Dimorphodon* Ouranosaurus Tyrannosaurus rex
Dryosaurus Oviraptor Ultrasauros
Dsungaripterus* Pachycephalosaurus Unenlagia
Edmontosaurus Pachyrhinosaurus Utahraptor
Elasmosaurus* Parasaurolophus Variraptor
Eoraptor Pentaceratops Velociraptor
Eryops* Plateosaurus Vulcanodon
Euoplocephalus Plesiosaurs* Wannanosaurus
Gallimimus Protarchaeopteryx Xiaosaurus
Gargoyleosaurus Protoceratops Yangchuanosaurus
Giganotosaurus Protohadros Zigongosaurus
Heterodontosaurus Psittacosaurus
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