Monoclonius

single sprout (single stem)

• mono- · Greek · single
• klonos · Greek · sprout, twig, shoot

The name combines the Greek "monos" (single) and "klonos" (a sprout, twig or shoot), so it means roughly "single sprout" or "single stem". Edward Drinker Cope coined it in 1876 for a horned dinosaur from Montana. It is generally explained as referring to a feature of the teeth or skeleton he described, but I'm not certain of his exact reasoning.

Named by

Cope

Year named

1876

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Campanian

Found in

Judith River Formation, Montana, USA

A ceratopsian (horned dinosaur), type species Monoclonius crassus. The original material is fragmentary, so the genus is generally regarded as a nomen dubium. Many specimens once assigned to it have been moved to other genera such as Centrosaurus, or are thought to be juvenile or subadult individuals of related animals.