A new species of horned dinosaur has been identified based on fossil remains found in Montana. The new species was named Lokiceratops rangiformis, after the Norse-god Loki popularized wearing a horned-helmet in the Marvel movies.
The fossil of Lokiceratops was found in northern Montana in 2019, and its identification as a new species is detailed in a paper published in PeerJ.
Lokiceratops rangiformis was a large herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur that lived around 78 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now western North America.
It measured around 22 feet (6.7 meters) long, weighed approximately 5-5.5 tons, and had over 200 sharp teeth for eating plants.
It had an elaborate frill and blade-like horns, including large curved horns over 40 cm long above its eyes, an ornamented asymmetrical frill, flat curved horns on its neck shield, and asymmetrical horns on the tip of the shield, reminiscent of caribou antlers.
The horns, frill, and ornamentation were likely used for display, intimidating rivals, attracting mates, and recognizing the same species, rather than for defense. Its habitat was a seasonally subtropical ecosystem with dense forests, floodplains, and swamps, shared with other horned dinosaur species.
The discovery of Lokiceratops, which predates Triceratops by 12 million years, challenges previous beliefs about the coexistence of multiple horned dinosaurs in the same location and time period, as fossils suggest it shared its environment with four other closely related horned species.
The fossil of Lokiceratops was found in northern Montana in 2019, and its identification as a new species is detailed in a paper published in PeerJ. However, some experts caution that the limited remains could belong to a mature individual of a known species.
While some peers argue that Lokiceratops may be a variation of an existing dinosaur species, scientists believe it is a distinct new species based on the number, size, and arrangement of its horns, which differentiate it from similar dinosaurs.
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq
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