Ceratops

horned face

• keras / kerato- · Greek · horn
• ops · Greek · face

The name combines the Greek words 'keras' (horn) and 'ops' (face), meaning "horned face." It was chosen to reflect the presence of horn-like processes on the skull of this animal. The name later became enormously influential, serving as the root of the entire group Ceratopsia (horned dinosaurs) and many genus names such as Triceratops and Protoceratops.

Named by

Marsh

Year named

1888

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Campanian

Found in

Judith River Formation, Montana, USA

Ceratops is considered a nomen dubium (doubtful name) because the fragmentary skull material (mainly two horn cores and some skull fragments) on which it was based cannot be confidently distinguished from other ceratopsids. Despite this, the name was foundational: it gave its root to the clade Ceratopsia and to dozens of later genus names. It is not synonymised with any single genus but is regarded as an indeterminate ceratopsid.