Crittendenceratops
Named after the Fort Crittenden Formation in Arizona where the fossils were found, + Greek ceratops ('horned face'), meaning 'horned face from the Fort Crittenden Formation'.
Late Cretaceous stages
Crittendenceratops is a genus of horned centrosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur from the late Campanian Fort Crittenden Formation of Arizona. It contains a single species, C. krzyzanowskii, and represents the first dinosaur taxon from that formation to receive a formal scientific name.
Diagnosis
- Forward-curving, hook-like flanges located along the dorsomedial margin of the parietal lateroposterior ramus.
- Extensive epiparietals located along the lateroposterior margin of the parietal ramus.
- Parietal ramus dorsoventrally thick with deep elongate fossa on dorsal surface.
- Posteroventrolateral concavity pronounced and extensively rugose.
- Squamosal dorsal ridge short, pronounced, and located in close proximity to dorsolateral margin of the bone.
Species
Crittendenceratops krzyzanowskii Dalman et al., 2018
Type species
Named for the late Stan Krzyzanowski, who discovered and collected the holotype specimen.
- Holotype
- NMMNH P-34906 , New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
- Material
- Incomplete right parietal and nearly complete left squamosal.
- Horizon
- lower Fort Crittenden Formation, Campanian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–72.2 million years ago
- Locality
- Adobe Canyon, Arizona, United States
References
- Dalman, S. G.; Hodnett, J. P. M.; Lichtig, A. J.; Lucas, S. G. (2018). A new ceratopsid dinosaur (Centrosaurinae: Nasutoceratopsini) from the Fort Crittenden Formation, Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) of Arizona. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 79: 141-164. dalman2018a
-
Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Ornithischians. Princeton University Press.
Source of the body length estimate, and the appearance features.
jones2026a