Montanoceratops

Montanoceratops was a sturdy, hornless ceratopsian that inhabited western North America during the Late Cretaceous period. Measuring between two and three metres in total length, it was roughly the size of a domestic calf. Originally collected in Montana by Barnum Brown in 1916, it was initially mistaken for Leptoceratops before being recognized as a distinct genus decades later. Montanoceratops had a heavy skull, a modest frill, and high neural spines on its caudal vertebrae, producing a remarkably deep and flattened tail. Although living alongside giant ceratopsids such as Triceratops, it retained a primitive leptoceratopsid anatomy suited for browsing low undergrowth.

Its tall tail vertebrae suggest it had a deep, paddle-like tail used for signalling or swimming.

Where and when

Montanoceratops lived in the Late Cretaceous, from 72 to 69 million years ago (Maastrichtian age). Its remains come from United States, in the St. Mary River Formation.

The numbers

Length 2.6 m (estimates run from 2.2 to 3 m). Mass about 190 kg. Hip height about 0.9 m. That is 1.5 human-lengths, or 0.23 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, first ma, last ma, hip height.

Compare Montanoceratops with a bus Place on the timeline