The species populated Canada about 70 million years ago

Jun 5, 2015 07:10 GMT  ·  By
Artist's depiction of the newly discovered Regaliceratops peterhewsi
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   Artist's depiction of the newly discovered Regaliceratops peterhewsi

A report published in the journal Current Biology this past Thursday, June 4, describes a previously undocumented dinosaur species that populated present-day Alberta, Canada, about 70 million years back. 

The species, now known to the scientific community as Regaliceratops peterhewsi, was closely related to dinosaurs in the genus Triceratops, which lived in North America around the same time.

Regaliceratops peterhewsi sported a crown of sorts

Researcher Caleb Brown of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Alberta and his colleagues explain that, according to fossil evidence at hand, dinosaurs belonging to this species had a set of three horns growing on their face and a set of plates forming a crown of sorts attached to their skull.

Of the three horns adorning these dinosaurs' face, two were placed right next to their eyes, which, by the way, were abnormally small when compared to the rest of their body. The third horn stood right about the nose and was considerably larger than the others.

As mentioned, this newly discovered dinosaur species was given the name Regaliceratops peterhewsi. However, paleontologist Caleb Brown and his team admit that, because of the bizarre anatomy of this ancient beast, they've gotten into the habit of calling it Hellboy rather than use the official moniker.

It is estimated that, as adults, Regaliceratops peterhewsi specimens measured about 5 meters (roughly 16.5 feet) in length and tipped the scale at approximately 1.5 tonnes. Plainly put, these ancient beasts were about the size of an SUV and not to be messed with.

How this long-lost horned dinosaur was discovered 

The paleontologists who documented this previously unknown horned dinosaur species say that it was about 10 years ago that a man by the name of Peter Hews discovered the snout of a Regaliceratops peterhewsi specimen sticking out of a cliff in southeastern Alberta, Science Daily reports.

The scientific community was alerted, and soon enough, a nearly intact Regaliceratops peterhewsi skull was recovered. Being as odd and as unique as it was, this skull was more than enough for researchers to conclude that they were dealing with an entirely new species.

“It was not until the specimen was being slowly prepared from the rocks in the laboratory that the full anatomy was uncovered, and the bizarre suite of characters revealed. Once it was prepared it was obviously a new species, and an unexpected one at that,” specialist Caleb Brown said in a statement.

The skull that led to the discovery of this new dinosaur species
The skull that led to the discovery of this new dinosaur species

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Artist's depiction of the newly discovered Regaliceratops peterhewsi
The skull that led to the discovery of this new dinosaur species
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