Dinosaurs A to Z
Ceratopsidae

Chasmosaurus kazmoh-SƆːRUHS

"opening"

Generic ceratopsian body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Chasmosaurus 4.8 m (15.7 ft) long
as long as 3 people standing fingertip to fingertip
generic ceratopsian body plan, scaled to length — not a silhouette of Chasmosaurus
Length
4.8 m (15.7 ft)
Period
Late Cretaceous (77–74 Mya)
Place
North America · Africa · Canada · India
Food
Herbivore
Clade
Ceratopsidae Dinosauria Ornithischia Cerapoda Marginocephalia Big horned ceratopsians of the Late Cretaceous.

Chasmosaurus ( ) is a genus of ceratopsid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period in North America. Its given name means ‘opening lizard’, referring to the large openings (fenestrae) in its frill (Greek chasma, meaning ‘opening’, ‘hollow’, or ‘gulf’; and sauros, meaning ‘lizard’). With a length of 4.3 – 4.8 m and a weight of 1.5 – 2 t—or anywhere from 2,200 to nearly 5,000 lbs—Chasmosaurus was of a slightly smaller to “average” size, especially when compared to larger ceratopsids (such as Triceratops, which were about the size of an African bush elephant).

It was initially to be called Protorosaurus, but this name had been previously published for another animal. All of the excavated specimens of Chasmosaurus were collected at the Dinosaur Park Formation, Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada. For many years, Chasmosaurus russelli was considered a second species.

What we know

  • Named by Lambe, 1914.
  • Body length estimated at about 4.8 m.
  • Fossils found in North America and Africa.

What we guess

The reconstruction notes for Chasmosaurus — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.