Montanoceratops
Encyclopedia
Montanoceratops was a genus
of small ceratopsian dinosaur
. It lived during the early Maastrichtian
of the late Cretaceous
Period. Its fossils, as its name indicates, have been found in Montana
.
The first fossil
remains of what we now know as Montanoceratops were collected in Buffalo Lake, Montana
in the St Mary River Formation by Barnum Brown
around 1916, he and his assistant Erich M. Schlaikjer
publishing it in 1935 as Leptoceratops
cerorhynchos. However, later C.M. Sternberg
found more material of Leptoceratops
which showed the former was a distinct genus and hence Montanoceratops was coined.
The original material collected by Barnum Brown was meagre; more of the skull was absent than present, as well there were some vertebrae, pelvis and hindlimb material. Further material was found and published in a paper by Brends Chinnery and David Weishampel in 1998.
within the Ceratopsia
(the name is Greek
for "horned face"), a group of herbivorous dinosaurs with parrot
-like beaks which thrived in North America
and Asia
during the Cretaceous Period, which ended roughly 65 million years ago. All ceratopsians became extinct at the end of this era.
. It was once thought to have a horn on its nose but that was a misplaced cheek horn. Another unusual feature was the presence of tall spines on the bones of the tail. Although these would not have been visible during life, they would have made the tail unusually deep in cross-section. Since the tail was also highly flexible, it is possible that it was used in intra-species signalling, and that the deep shape made it more visible. Montanoceratops was about 3 metres (9.8 ft) long from head to tail.
Montanoceratops, like all Ceratopsians, was a herbivore
. It would have used its sharp Ceratopsian beak to bite off the leaves or needles.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of small ceratopsian dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
. It lived during the early Maastrichtian
Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the latest age or upper stage of the Late Cretaceous epoch or Upper Cretaceous series, the Cretaceous period or system, and of the Mesozoic era or erathem. It spanned from 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma to 65.5 ± 0.3 Ma...
of the late Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
Period. Its fossils, as its name indicates, have been found in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
.
Discoveries and species
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
remains of what we now know as Montanoceratops were collected in Buffalo Lake, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
in the St Mary River Formation by Barnum Brown
Barnum Brown
Barnum Brown , a paleontologist born in Carbondale, Kansas, and named after the circus showman P.T. Barnum, discovered the second fossil of Tyrannosaurus rex during a career that made him one of the most famous fossil hunters working from the late Victorian era into the early 20th century.Sponsored...
around 1916, he and his assistant Erich M. Schlaikjer
Erich Maren Schlaikjer
Erich Maren Schlaikjer was an American geologist and dinosaur hunter. Assisting Barnum Brown, he co-described Pachycephalosaurus and what is now Montanoceratops. Other discoveries include Miotapirus and a new species of Mesohippus....
publishing it in 1935 as Leptoceratops
Leptoceratops
Leptoceratops , was a primitive ceratopsian dinosaur genus from the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now Western North America, at the same time as its giant...
cerorhynchos. However, later C.M. Sternberg
Charles Mortram Sternberg
Charles M. Sternberg was an American-Canadian fossil collector and paleontologist, son of Charles Hazelius Sternberg.Late in his career, he collected and described Pachyrhinosaurus, Brachylophosaurus, Parksosaurus and Edmontonia...
found more material of Leptoceratops
Leptoceratops
Leptoceratops , was a primitive ceratopsian dinosaur genus from the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now Western North America, at the same time as its giant...
which showed the former was a distinct genus and hence Montanoceratops was coined.
The original material collected by Barnum Brown was meagre; more of the skull was absent than present, as well there were some vertebrae, pelvis and hindlimb material. Further material was found and published in a paper by Brends Chinnery and David Weishampel in 1998.
Classification
Montanoceratops belonged to the LeptoceratopsidaeLeptoceratopsidae
The family Leptoceratopsidae, its name derived from the type genus Leptoceratops, is a group of several small neoceratopsian genera which appear not to belong to the clade Protoceratopsidae. They resembled, and were closely related to, other ceratopsids, but all discovered species are generally...
within the Ceratopsia
Ceratopsia
Ceratopsia or Ceratopia is a group of herbivorous, beaked dinosaurs which thrived in what are now North America, Europe, and Asia, during the Cretaceous Period, although ancestral forms lived earlier, in the Jurassic. The earliest known ceratopsian, Yinlong downsi, lived between 161.2 and 155.7...
(the name is Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
for "horned face"), a group of herbivorous dinosaurs with parrot
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
-like beaks which thrived in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
during the Cretaceous Period, which ended roughly 65 million years ago. All ceratopsians became extinct at the end of this era.
Paleobiology
Montanoceratops was a typical primitive ceratopsian in many respects, distinguished from the later species by the presence of claws, rather than hooves, and by having teeth in its upper jaw, rather than a toothless beakBeak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
. It was once thought to have a horn on its nose but that was a misplaced cheek horn. Another unusual feature was the presence of tall spines on the bones of the tail. Although these would not have been visible during life, they would have made the tail unusually deep in cross-section. Since the tail was also highly flexible, it is possible that it was used in intra-species signalling, and that the deep shape made it more visible. Montanoceratops was about 3 metres (9.8 ft) long from head to tail.
Montanoceratops, like all Ceratopsians, was a herbivore
Herbivore
Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...
. It would have used its sharp Ceratopsian beak to bite off the leaves or needles.