Horned Dinosaur Species Had Wing-Shaped Headgear

Posted on June 18, 2014

Scientists have discovered fossils of a previously unknown horned dinosaur species that had wing-shaped ornamentation on the sides of its skull. The fossils were found in Montana and Alberta, Canada. The new species, Mercuriceratops gemini, lived about 77 million years ago. It weighed over 2 tons and grew to be about 6 meters (20 feet) long.

The first part of the dinosaur's name, Mercuriceratops, means "Mercury horned-face." The gemini portion of the name refers to nearly identical twin specimens found in north central Montana and the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Dinosaur Provincial Park, in Alberta, Canada. The plant-eating dinosaur had a parrot-like beak. Scientists believe it also had two horns above its eyes.

Dr. Michael Ryan, curator of vertebrate paleontology at The Cleveland Museum of Natural History and lead author of the study, says in the announcement, "Mercuriceratops took a unique evolutionary path that shaped the large frill on the back of its skull into protruding wings like the decorative fins on classic 1950s cars. It definitively would have stood out from the herd during the Late Cretaceous. Horned dinosaurs in North America used their elaborate skull ornamentation to identify each other and to attract mates—not just for protection from predators. The wing-like protrusions on the sides of its frill may have offered male Mercuriceratops a competitive advantage in attracting mates."

Dr. David Evans, curator of vertebrate palaeontology at the Royal Ontario Museum, says, "The butterfly-shaped frill, or neck shield, of Mercuriceratops is unlike anything we have seen before. Mercuriceratops shows that evolution gave rise to much greater variation in horned dinosaur headgear than we had previously suspected."

A research paper on the new species is published here in Naturwissenschaften.

DINOSAURS