Open Paleo

Nasutoceratops

Sampson et al., 2013 nuh-SU-toe-SEH-ruh-tops

From Latin 'nasutus' meaning 'large-nosed' and Latinized Greek 'ceratops' meaning 'horned face'; translates as 'large-nosed horned face', referring to its distinctive enlarged nasal region.

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

Nasutoceratops is a genus of ceratopsid dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous period, about 76.0-75.5 million years ago. The first known specimens were discovered in Utah in the Kaiparowits Formation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) from 2006 onwards, including a subadult skull with both a partial postcranial skeleton and rare skin impressions, and two other partial skulls. In 2013, the subadult was made the holotype of the new genus and species Nasutoceratops titusi; the generic name means "large-nosed horned face", and the specific name honors the paleontologist Alan L. Titus for work at the GSENM. The dinosaur was noted for its large nose in news reports, and later featured in Jurassic World films.

Diagnosis

  1. Hypertrophied narial region (approx. 75% of preorbital skull length)
  2. Pneumatic nasal ornamentation with internal pneumatic cavities in the nasal
  3. Abbreviated snout, shorter rostrocaudally than in other ceratopsids
  4. Elongate, rostrolaterally directed supraorbital horncores, distinctively curved and twisted distally
  5. Double faceted medially directed flange on maxilla
  6. Subrectangular parietosquamosal frill broadest in mid-region, relatively unadorned
  7. Pronounced dorsolateral ridge on squamosal

Species

Nasutoceratops titusi Sampson et al., 2013

Type species

Named in honor of paleontologist Alan L. Titus for efforts in recovering fossils from the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Holotype
UMNH VP 16800 , Utah Museum of Natural History
Material
Mostly complete, articulated skull plus postcranial elements including syncervical, fragmentary dorsal vertebrae, left forelimb and fragmentary right forelimb.
Horizon
middle Kaiparowits Formation, Campanian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–72.2 million years ago
Locality
UMNH VP Locality 940, Utah, United States

Synonyms of the genus

Name Type Reason
Nasutuceratops nomen ex dissertatione Name appears in a dissertation, which does not meet ICZN publication requirements; referable to Nasutoceratops. Per Olshevsky's Dinosaur Genera List.

Notable specimens

  • UMNH VP 19466

    Utah Museum of Natural History ontogeny

    Referred disarticulated adult skull preserving partial premaxillae, a right maxilla, and the right nasal. Because the holotype is a subadult, this specimen documents the adult cranial condition of the taxon. It was found in a bonebed with a partial ankylosaur and a turtle shell.

    Sampson et al. (2013)

References

  1. Sampson, S. D.; Lund, E. K.; Loewen, M. A.; Farke, A. A.; Clayton, K. E. (2013). A remarkable short-snouted horned dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (late Campanian) of southern Laramidia. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 280(1766): 20131186. The Royal Society. doi:10.1098/rspb.2013.1186 sampson2013a
  2. Paul, G. S. (2024). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (3rd ed.). Princeton University Press.

    Source of the appearance features.

    paul2024a