Regaliceratops

Regaliceratops
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 68.5–67.5 Ma
↓
Holotype skull
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Clade:Dinosauria
Order:†Ornithischia
Family:†Ceratopsidae
Subfamily:†Chasmosaurinae
Tribe:†Triceratopsini
Genus:†Regaliceratops
Brown & Henderson, 2015
Type species
†Regaliceratops peterhewsi
Brown & Henderson, 2015

Regaliceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur that lived during the late Cretaceous period, about 68 million years ago in what is now Alberta, Canada.[1][2]

Discovery

Restoration with Hypacrosaurus and Leptoceratops

Closely related to Triceratops, Regaliceratops was named for its plated frill, which its describers thought looked somewhat like a crown. In 2005, geologist Peter Hews discovered a skull at the Oldman River in Alberta. The fossil was secured by a team of the Royal Tyrrell Museum. The specimen was given the nickname "Hellboy" for its horns and the difficulty of removing it from the matrix.[3]

In 2015, Caleb Marshall Brown and Donald Henderson named and described the type species Regaliceratops peterhewsi. The generic name combines Latin regalis, "royal", a reference to both the crown-shaped neck shield and the "Royal" Tyrrell, with a Greek keras, "horn", and ops, "face". The specific name honours Hews.[1]

Skull of Regaliceratops peterhewsi on display at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Alberta, Canada.

The holotype, TMP 2005.055.0001, was found in a layer of the St. Mary River Formation dating from the middle Maastrichtian, about 68 million years old. It consists of a rather complete skull of which the snout bone, the rostrum, is lacking. The skull has been deformed by compression and its rear and underside are obscured by the matrix.[1]

Regaliceratops was about five metres long, with an estimated weight of 1.5 tonnes.[4]

Systematics

Regaliceratops was resolved as a member of the Triceratopsini by Brown and Henderson (2015).[1][5] However, in 2016 a study by Mallon et al. did not resolve Regaliceratops as a triceratopsin.[6]

Phylogeny

Phylogeny of Brown & Henderson, 2015.[1][7]

Triceratopsini

 

Regaliceratops peterhewsi

 
 

Eotriceratops xerinsularis

 
 

Ojoceratops fowleri

 
 

 

Titanoceratops ouranos

 
 

 

Nedoceratops hatcheri

 
 

 

 

Torosaurus latus

 
 

Torosaurus utahensis

 
 
 

 

Triceratops horridus

 
 

Triceratops prorsus

 
 
 
 
 
 

Phylogeny of Mallon et al., 2016.[6]

 

Anchiceratops ornatus

 
 

Regaliceratops peterhewsi

 
 

 

Arrhinoceratops brachyops

 
 

Triceratopsini

 

 

Ojoceratops fowleri

 
 

Titanoceratops ouranos

 
 

Nedoceratops hatcheri

 
 

Torosaurus latus

 
 

"Torosaurus" utahensis

 
 

 

Triceratops prorsus

 
 

Triceratops horridus

 
 
 
 
 
 

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Brown, Caleb M.; Henderson, Donald M. (June 4, 2015). "A new horned dinosaur reveals convergent evolution in cranial ornamentation in ceratopsidae". Current Biology. 25 (online): 1641–8. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2015.04.041. PMID 26051892.
  2. ↑ "New species of horned dinosaur with 'bizarre' features revealed". Retrieved 2015-06-05.
  3. ↑ "'Hellboy' dinosaur rewrites the prehistory book". 3 News. 5 June 2015.
  4. ↑ Will Dunham, 2015, "Meet 'Hellboy,' the dinosaur with exotic horns and frill", Reuters 04 June 2015
  5. ↑ "New species of horned dinosaur with 'bizarre' features revealed". Retrieved 2015-06-05.
  6. 1 2 Jordan C. Mallon, Christopher J. Ott, Peter L. Larson, Edward M. Iuliano and David C. Evans (2016). "Spiclypeus shipporum gen. et sp. nov., a Boldly Audacious New Chasmosaurine Ceratopsid (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Judith River Formation (Upper Cretaceous: Campanian) of Montana, USA". PLoS ONE. 11 (5): e0154218. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0154218. PMC 4871577. PMID 27191389.
  7. ↑ "New species of horned dinosaur with 'bizarre' features revealed". Retrieved 2015-06-05.
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