Dinosaurs A to Z
Ceratopsidae

Menefeeceratops sealeyi

"Menefee Formation horned face"

Generic ceratopsian body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Menefeeceratops 4.5 m (14.8 ft) long
as long as 3 people standing fingertip to fingertip
generic ceratopsian body plan, scaled to length — not a silhouette of Menefeeceratops
Length
4.5 m (14.8 ft)
Period
Cretaceous (145–66 Mya)
Place
United States · Mexico · New Mexico, USA
Food
Herbivore
Clade
Ceratopsidae Dinosauria Ornithischia Cerapoda Marginocephalia Big horned ceratopsians of the Late Cretaceous.

Menefeeceratops (meaning “Menefee Formation horned face”) is a genus of ceratopsid dinosaur from the Menefee Formation in New Mexico, United States. It is potentially the oldest known member of the ceratopsids, as well as the centrosaurine subfamily, related to animals including Yehuecauhceratops and Crittendenceratops. The type and only species is Menefeeceratops sealeyi, known from a partial, non-articulated skeleton.

What we know

  • Named by Dalman et al., 2021.
  • Body length estimated at about 4.5 m.
  • Fossils found in United States and Mexico.

What we guess

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