Newfound dinosaur species called father of Triceratops
http://www.world-science.net/othernews/110201_titanoceratops [See for
graphics]
Two tank-like reptiles, Triceratops and Torosaurus, have long been
considered the kings of the horned dinosaurs. But a new discovery traces
the giants' family tree further back in time, scientists say, when a
newly discovered species seems to have reigned long before its
better-known descendants. That would make the beast the earliest known
member of its family, the triceratopsins.
The new species, called Titanoceratops, is said to have rivaled
Triceratops in size, with an estimated weight of nearly 15,000 pounds
and a massive eight-foot-long skull. Its name is a nod to the Greek myth
of the Titans, an elder race of gods. Titanoceratops lived in the
American southwest during the late Cretaceous period around 74 million
years ago, according to Yale University paleontologist Nicholas
Longrich, who is credited with the discovery. This suggests the group
evolved its large size more than five million years earlier than
previously thought, he said. The finding, to appear in an upcoming issue
of the journal Cretaceous Research, helps shed light on the poorly
understood origins of these giant horned dinosaurs, he added.
Longrich was searching through scientific papers when he came across a
description of a partial skeleton of a dinosaur discovered in New Mexico
in 1941. The skeleton went untouched until 1995, when it was finally
prepared and identified incorrectly, he said, as Pentaceratops, a
species common to the area. When the missing part of its frill – the
signature feature of the horned dinosaurs – was reconstructed for
display in the Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, it was modeled after
Pentaceratops. "When I looked at the skeleton more closely, I realized
it was just too different from the other known Pentaceratops to be a
member of the species," Longrich said, adding that the specimen's
size indicated that it likely weighed about twice as much as adult
Pentaceratops. The new species is very similar to Triceratops, but with
a thinner frill, longer nose and slightly bigger horns, Longrich said.
Instead, Longrich believes that Titanoceratops is the ancestor of both
Triceratops and Torosaurus, and that the latter two split several
millions years after Titanoceratops evolved. "This skeleton is exactly
what you would expect their ancestor to look like," he said.
Titanoceratops was probably only around for about a million years,
according to Longrich, while the triceratopsian family existed for a
total of about 10 million years and roamed beyond the American southwest
into other parts of the country and as far north as Canada. To confirm
the discovery beyond any doubt, Longrich hopes paleontologists will find
other fossil skeletons that include intact frills, which would help
confirm the differences between Titanoceratops and Pentaceratops. "There
have got to be more of them out there," Longrich said.
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