Palaeontology

New horned 'Hellboy' dinosaur discovered

By T.K. Randall
June 5, 2015 ·  3 comments

The new dinosaur was a relative of Triceratops. Image Credit: PD - Wikimedia Originally discovered along the Oldman River in southeastern Alberta by geologist Peter Hews, the fossil remains have now been identified as those of an impressive new species.

Named Regaliceratops peterhewsi after the regal appearance of its distinctive frill, the new dinosaur, which was a cousin of Triceratops, lived 70 million years ago and has even earned itself the nickname 'Hellboy' after the comic book and movie character.

"This discovery shows that we are perhaps still quite a ways from knowing the complete diversity of dinosaur species in the Late Cretaceous of western North America," said Prof James Farlow.Palaeontologists believe that the fossil remains of an immediate ancestor of Regaliceratops, one that has yet to be discovered, are also waiting to be found somewhere in the same region.

"This find tells us more about the kinds of horned dinosaurs that lived just before Triceratops was on the scene," said paleontologist Andrew Farke. "I am now really curious to see what other oddities might have been around at the same time - this new beast is an important data point."

Regaliceratops, like Triceratops, was a plant-eater that looked a bit like a modern rhinoceros.

Its impressive frills and horns, which are often depicted as weapons for doing battle with other dinosaurs, were instead most likely to have been used to help the animals attract a mate.

Source: Smithsonian Magazine | Comments (3)

Tags: Dinosaur, Triceratops