New Triceratops Ancestor

Posted on November 25, 2007  Comments (1)

Alberta palaeontologists discover new dino genus

Scientists from the Royal Tyrrell Museum and the Canadian Museum of Nature have [discovered]… Eotriceratops xerinsularis (pronounced EE-OH-try-sair-ah-tops ZEER-in-soo-lair-iss)… The dino may be an ancestor of the well-know triceratops, and at the very least, is the group’s earliest known member; researchers say the Eotriceratops lived in southern Alberta 68 million years ago.

It is the largest type of horned dinosaur ever discovered in Alberta, and possibly the world.

According to researchers, Eotriceratops likely reached eight or nine metres from nose to tail. It had a massive skull that featured a solid frill (this alone was three metres in length), and three horns – two above each eye, and another, shorter one, perched on its nose.

Judging by its teeth, the Eotriceratops was a plant-eater, but one that would have been able to ward off predators.

Related: NigersaurusMost Dinosaurs Remain Undiscovered100 Dinosaur Eggs Found in IndiaFossils of Sea Monster

One Response to “New Triceratops Ancestor”

  1. Curious Cat » Giant Duck-Billed Dinosaur Discovered in Mexico
    February 12th, 2008 @ 7:12 pm

    “The discovery of the 72-million-year-old fossil adds to the rich gallery of dinosaurs that scientists now know lived in western North America during the latter part of the dinosaur era…”

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