Medusaceratops

Medusaceratops was a striking horned dinosaur that inhabited the coastal lowlands of northern Montana during the Late Cretaceous epoch. Reaching about six metres in length and weighing over two tonnes, this bulky herbivore had a body mass rivaling that of a large rhinoceros. It was named after the mythical gorgon Medusa because of the thick, snake-like bony hooks that curved outwards and downwards from the sides of its large neck frill. When its fossil bones were first discovered in a multi-species bonebed alongside Albertaceratops, researchers initially classified it as an unusually basal chasmosaurine. Subsequent discoveries and detailed anatomical restudy clarified that Medusaceratops was actually a true centrosaurine. Its distinctive frill ornamentation and robust brow horns underscore the incredible diversity of headgear that evolved among contemporary ceratopsids sharing the same rich, swampy river habitats of ancient North America.

Initially misidentified as a chasmosaurine because of its massive, sweeping lateral frill hooks.

Where and when

Medusaceratops lived in the Late Cretaceous, from 78 to 76.5 million years ago (Campanian age). Its remains come from United States, in the Judith River Formation.

The numbers

Length 5.8 m (estimates run from 5.5 to 6 m). Mass about 2.2 t. Hip height about 1.9 m. That is 3.4 human-lengths, or 0.52 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.

Compare Medusaceratops with a bus Place on the timeline