Pentaceratops

five-horned face

• penta · Greek · five
• keras · Greek · horn
• ops · Greek · face

The name means "five-horned face" and comes from Greek roots for five, horn and face. Henry Fairfield Osborn chose it because the animal was thought to have five horns: one on the nose, one over each eye, and one projecting from each cheekbone (jugal). The cheek horns are actually small, pointed extensions of the jugal bones, but they gave the impression of a five-horned face.

Named by

Osborn

Year named

1923

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Campanian

Found in

Fruitland and Kirtland Formations, New Mexico, USA

A large ceratopsid (chasmosaurine) with one of the longest skulls of any known land animal. The type species is Pentaceratops sternbergii. Fossils are also reported from nearby areas of the southwestern USA. The genus Titanoceratops was proposed for a related specimen from Texas, and its relationship to Pentaceratops has been debated.