New dinosaur fossil with largest horns ever found found between Montana and Alberta

A few kilometers from the US-Canada border is Judith River Formation, northern Montana. At this site were found the fossil remains of a dinosaur – a skull and partial skeleton – that has just been identified as a new species: Locyceratops rangiformis.

This animal had two huge blade-shaped horns on its back, which is how it got its name, which means: “Loki’s horned caribou-like face.” Named after the Norse god Loki, it is the fourth centrosaurus and fifth horned dinosaur discovered at the site.

Discovery published by the magazine PirJ, This became possible thanks to the work of a group of scientists led by the Utah Museum of Natural History (in the United States of America). It is curious that this specimen is one of horned herbivorous dinosaurs the largest and most ornate ever found.

We believe these decorations are used to attract mates and intimidate rivals of the same species.

Mark Lowen
— Utah Museum of Natural History

“Each animal in the Judith River Formation ecosystem of Montana had a different pattern of ornamentation on the nose, above the eyes, and along the back of the head shield. We believe that these decorations are used to attract mates and intimidate rivals of the same species,” he explains to SINC. Mark Lowenmuseum paleontologist and lead co-author of the study.

The giant, approximately 6.7 meters long and weighing about 5 tons, belongs to ceratopsids, a group that evolved about 92 million years ago during Upper Cretaceousand this diversified and persisted until the end of the age of dinosaurs.

“Ornaments on ceratopsian skulls are the main way we can currently differentiate between species. Like ornamented birds and mammals such as antelope, these decorations were probably used for display.” Joseph Sertich, co-director of the study and paleontologist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Colorado State University (USA).

Like other herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaurs, Locyceratops It had a mouth full of over two hundred sharp teeth that allowed it to cut down vegetation, including small branches.

Subtropical coastal plain

Locyceratops rangiformis appeared at least 12 million years before its famous cousin Triceratops and it was the largest horned dinosaur of its time, as confirmed by this study.

More than 78 million years ago Locyceratops It inhabited the swamps and floodplains of the eastern coast of Laramidia. A Late Cretaceous island continent that coincided with what is now geologically western North America, formed when a great sea route divided the continent about one hundred million years ago. Since then, mountain building and dramatic changes in climate and sea level have altered the hothouse world of Laramidia where they thrived. Locyceratops and other dinosaurs.

The remains of other dinosaurs were found in the same layers as Locyceratops including ceratopsid dinosaurs Judiceratops, Albertaceratops, Medusaceratops And Vendiceratopsand duck-billed dinosaur Probrachylophosaurus. They were probably hunted by a Tyrannosaurus rex, similar to Tyrannosaurus. Thanatoterists.

We still don’t know exactly which Tyrannosaurus rex lived among these species, more fossils need to be found.

Joseph Sertich

“We still don’t know exactly which tyrannosaurus rex lived with these species, more fossils need to be found. At that time, the global greenhouse spread tropical and subtropical ecosystems much further north than today,” Sertich emphasizes.

According to Lowen, “Locyceratops lived in a subtropical coastal zone covered with forests, small lakes and swamps along the east coast of Laramidia, an island portion of western North America,” Lowen continues.

A family of lizards with underappreciated diversity

Analysis of the remains suggests that this family of horned dinosaurs underwent rapid evolution and lived in relatively small geographic areas across the continent’s landmass. Laramidia Island.

He high endemism observed in centrosaurs means that dinosaur diversity is currently underestimated and cannot be directly compared with the large (historical) geographic ranges observed in most large mammals today.

Ornaments on ceratopsian skulls are the main way to distinguish species.

Joseph Sertich
— Colorado State University

“We didn’t expect to go to the Serengeti and find five species of elephants living together, and these animals are the same size. The only way to maintain this level of hyperdiversity is because they share mating preferences and courtship behaviors similar to some modern birds and fish,” Lowen explains.

According to Sertich, this very high richness indicates rapid diversification or speciation and indicates that these Laramidia ecosystems could support a very diverse dinosaur fauna. “This evolution is probably related to climate change in a dynamic landscape. This also suggests that there are many dinosaurs out there waiting to be discovered,” he notes.

Previously, paleontologists believed that no more than two species of horned dinosaurs could coexist in the same place at the same time, but Horned dinosaurs were more diverse than previously thought.

We now recognize more than 30 species of centrosaurs within the larger group of horned dinosaurs, and more are being described every year.

Andrew Farke
— Raymond M. Alf Paleontological Museum

Scientists have debated the patterns of evolution within the group of horned dinosaurs for many years. “We now recognize more than 30 species of centrosaurs within the larger group of horned dinosaurs, and more are being described every year,” he notes. Andrew Farkefrom the Raymond M. Alf Paleontological Museum (USA).

Many groups of dinosaurs had large geographic ranges. Centrosaurines appear to lack them, leading to higher levels of diversity. “At the same time, if they are modified by sexual selection, each region may contain more species of animals that functionally feed and live in the same way, similar to the cichlid fish in some Rift Valley lakes,” says the researcher from Rift Valley Institute. Utah Museum of Natural History.

Other unrelated dinosaurs have been found at sites of the same age and in other locations. This suggests that they were endemic to only part of Laramidia.

Link: Mark A. Lowen, Joseph J. W. Sertich, Scott Sampson, Andrew A. Farke, Nick Longrich, David S. Evan and others-‘Locyceratops rangiformis gen. etc. November (Ceratopsids: Centrosaurinae) from the Campanian Judith River Formation of Montana reveals rapid regional radiation and extreme endemism among Centroaurian dinosaurs. Magazine PirJ, 2024 | DOI: 10.7717/perj.17224.