Styracosaurus

Styracosaurus is one of the most recognisable horned dinosaurs ever discovered. It lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous period, around 75 million years ago, roaming river plains in what is now Alberta, Canada. 5 metres in length and weighing over two tonnes, it was comparable in bulk to a modern white rhinoceros. Like all ceratopsids, it was an obligate herbivore equipped with a stout shearing beak and dense batteries of teeth designed to chop through fibrous plants. The most striking feature of Styracosaurus was its cranial ornamentation. In addition to a massive horn on its snout measuring over half a metre, the margin of its bony neck frill sprouted several pairs of long, radiating spikes. These elaborate structures were likely used primarily for visual display, courtship, and species recognition.

It possessed four to six long spikes projecting from the rear margin of its neck frill.

Where and when

Styracosaurus lived in the Late Cretaceous, from 75.5 to 75 million years ago (Campanian age). Its remains come from Canada, in the Dinosaur Park Formation.

The numbers

Length 5.3 m (estimates run from 5 to 5.5 m). Mass about 2.2 t. Hip height about 1.8 m. That is 3.1 human-lengths, or 0.47 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from near-complete skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.

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