Kosmoceratops kozmuh-SEɹUHTOPS

"Etymology TBD"

You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Kosmoceratops 4.5 m (14.8 ft) long
3 people holding hands
Length
4.5 m (14.8 ft)
Period
Late Cretaceous (76–75.9 Mya)
Place
North America · Utah, USA
Food
Herbivore
Clade
Ceratopsidae Dinosauria Ornithischia Cerapoda Marginocephalia

Kosmoceratops () is a genus of ceratopsid dinosaur that lived in North America about 76–75.9 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period. Specimens were discovered in Utah in the Kaiparowits Formation of the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument in 2006 and 2007, including an adult skull and postcranial skeleton and partial subadults. In 2010, the adult was made the holotype of the new genus and species Kosmoceratops richardsoni; the generic name means “ornate horned face”, and the specific name honors Scott Richardson, who found the specimens. The find was part of a spate of ceratopsian discoveries in the early 21st century, and Kosmoceratops was considered significant due to its elaborate skull ornamentation.

Kosmoceratops had an estimated length of 4.5 m and a weight of 1.2 MT. As a ceratopsid, it would have been quadrupedal with a heavily constructed skeleton.

What we know

  • Named by Sampson et al., 2010.
  • Body length estimated at about 4.5 m.
  • Fossils found in North America and Utah, USA.