Open Paleo

Albertaceratops

Ryan, 2007 al-bert-a-serra-tops

Named after Alberta, Canada, combined with Greek 'keras' meaning 'horn' and 'ops' meaning 'face'; meaning 'Alberta horned face'

83.6–72.2 million years ago Campanian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Albertaceratops is a genus of centrosaurine horned dinosaur from the middle Campanian-age Upper Cretaceous Oldman Formation of Alberta, Canada.

Diagnosis

  1. Low, thick, elongate nasal ornamentation (long-based boss; unfused until late ontogeny, unlike other centrosaurines)
  2. Unmodified adult-sized postorbital horncores wide-based, elongated, massive, and oriented rostrolaterally
  3. Parietal with pair of wide-based, large, pachyostotic, dorsoventrally depressed, rostrally curved processes originating from the caudolateral margin of the parietals (P3 processes)

Species

Albertaceratops nesmoi Ryan, 2007

Type species

Named for Cecil Nesmo, a rancher living in Manyberries, Alberta, who aided fossil hunters in the region.

Holotype
TMP 2001.026.0001 , Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology
Material
Almost complete skull; no postcranial elements recovered.
Horizon
lower Oldman Formation, Campanian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–72.2 million years ago
Locality
Pinhorn Grazing Reserve, Alberta, Canada

References

  1. Ryan, M. J. (2007). A new basal centrosaurine ceratopsid from the Oldman Formation, southeastern Alberta. Journal of Paleontology 81(2): 376-396. Cambridge University Press (CUP). doi:10.1666/0022-3360(2007)81[376:anbccf]2.0.co;2 ryan2007a
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Ornithischians. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the hip height estimate, and the appearance features.

    jones2026a