Bisticeratops

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Bisticeratops
Temporal range:
Late Cretaceous, late Campanian, 74  Ma
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Bisticeratops skull (NMMNH P-50000).jpg
Holotype skull in the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Ornithischia
Clade: Neornithischia
Clade: Ceratopsia
Family: Ceratopsidae
Subfamily: Chasmosaurinae
Genus: Bisticeratops
Dalman et al., 2022
Species:
B. froeseorum
Binomial name
Bisticeratops froeseorum
Dalman et al., 2022

Bisticeratops (meaning "Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness horned face") is a genus of chasmosaurine ceratopsian from outcrops of the Campanian age Kirtland Formation found in the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness in northwestern New Mexico, United States. The type and only species is B. froeseorum, known from a nearly complete skull. [1]

Contents

Discovery and naming

Map of the southeast San Juan Basin; I (upper right) is the collection area of Bisticeratops Geological map of the southeast San Juan Basin.png
Map of the southeast San Juan Basin; I (upper right) is the collection area of Bisticeratops
Diagram showing preserved parts of the holotype skull Bisticeratops.png
Diagram showing preserved parts of the holotype skull

The Bisticeratops holotype specimen, NMMNH P-50000, was discovered in 1975 in layers of the Kirtland Formation (Farmington Member) in the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness area of San Juan Basin, northwestern New Mexico, United States, which dates to the late Campanian age of the late Cretaceous period. The specimen consists of a mostly complete skull, missing the parietal, left squamosal, postorbital horncores (only the cast of the right postorbital horncore is preserved), left jugal, left quadrate, predentary, and both dentaries. [1]

The holotype specimen was originally thought to be a specimen of Pentaceratops , despite being two million years younger than other specimens of that genus. When the description of Sierraceratops was initially published online in 2021, the name "Bisticeratops froeseorum" was leaked in a cladogram, but edited out when physically published in early 2022. Bisticeratops froeseorum was formally described by Dalman et al. in a separate paper published the same year. [2]

The generic name, "Bisticeratops", combines "Bisti", a reference to the location where the holotype was discovered, with the Greek keras (meaning "horn"), and ops (meaning "face"). The specific name honors Edgar Froese, the founder of the band Tangerine Dream, and his son Jerome, former member of Tangerine Dream and founder of the band Loom. Their music is said to have "provided through the years" and inspired the description. [1]

Classification

Skeletal diagram Bisticeratops skeletal.png
Skeletal diagram

Using the same phylogenetic analyses used to find the position of Sierraceratops , Dalman et al. (2022) recovered Bisticeratops as a sister taxon to an unnamed ceratopsian from the Almond Formation. The cladogram below displays the results of the phylogenetic analyses by Dalman, Jasinski, & Lucas. [1] [2]

Ceratopsidae

Paleobiology

Life reconstruction Bisticeratops Life Reconstruction.png
Life reconstruction

The holotype preserves bite marks from tyrannosaurids, some of which show signs of healing. [1]

Paleoenvironment

The fossil remains of Bisticeratops were recovered from the Farmington Member of the Kirtland Formation. This area represents the product of alluvial muds and overbank sand deposits from the many channels draining the coastal plain that existed on the inland seashore of North America during the late Cretaceous period. No other dinosaurs have been described from the Farmington Member, but taxa from other sub-units include kritosaurin and lambeosaurine hadrosaurs, ankylosaurids, chasmosaurine ceratopsids, pachycephalosaurids, dromaeosaurids, an indeterminate ornithomimid, tyrannosauroids, azhdarchids, crurotarsans, turtles, and cartilaginous and bony fish from the De-Na-Zin and Hunter Wash members.

Related Research Articles

<i>Pentaceratops</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Pentaceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period of what is now North America. Fossils of this animal were first discovered in 1921, but the genus was named in 1923 when its type species, Pentaceratops sternbergii, was described. Pentaceratops lived around 76–73 million years ago, its remains having been mostly found in the Kirtland Formation in the San Juan Basin in New Mexico. About a dozen skulls and skeletons have been uncovered, so anatomical understanding of Pentaceratops is fairly complete. One exceptionally large specimen later became its own genus, Titanoceratops, due to its more derived morphology, similarities to Triceratops, and lack of unique characteristics shared with Pentaceratops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirtland Formation</span> Geological formation in New Mexico and Colorado, United States

The Kirtland Formation is a sedimentary geological formation.

<i>Agujaceratops</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Agujaceratops is a genus of horned dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) of west Texas. It is a chasmosaurine (long-frilled) ceratopsian. Two species are known, Agujaceratops mariscalensis, and A. mavericus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness</span> Wilderness in New Mexico, United States

The Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness is a 45,000-acre (18,000 ha) wilderness area located in San Juan County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Established in 1984, the Wilderness is a desolate area of steeply eroded badlands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, except three parcels of private Navajo land within its boundaries. The John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, signed March 12, 2019, expanded the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness by approximately 2,250 acres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Almond Formation</span> Geological formation in Wyoming, U.S.

The Almond Formation is a geological formation of Late Cretaceous age in Wyoming. It was deposited in marsh, deltaic, lagoonal, estuarine, and shallow marine environments along the western shore of the Western Interior Seaway. It consists primarily of fine- to medium-grained sandstone, siltstone, shale, and coal. Fossils from the Almond Formation include remains of dinosaurs and plants.

<i>Diabloceratops</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Diabloceratops is an extinct genus of centrosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur that lived approximately 81.4-81 million years ago during the latter part of the Cretaceous Period in what is now Utah, in the United States. Diabloceratops was a medium-sized, moderately built, ground-dwelling, quadrupedal herbivore, that could grow up to an estimated 4.5 metres (15 ft) in length and 1.3 metric tons in body mass. At the time of its discovery, it was the oldest-known ceratopsid, and first centrosaurine known from latitudes south of the U.S. state of Montana. The generic name Diabloceratops means "devil-horned face," coming from Diablo, Spanish for "devil," and ceratops, Latinized Greek for "horned face." The specific name honors Jeffrey Eaton, a paleontologist at Weber State University and long time friend of the lead author Jim Kirkland. Eaton had a big role in establishing the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument where the specimen was found. The type species, Diabloceratops eatoni, was named and described in 2010 by James Ian Kirkland and Donald DeBlieux.

<i>Coahuilaceratops</i> Genus of ceratopsian dinosaurs

Coahuilaceratops is a genus of chasmosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur that lived during the early Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 71.5 to 70.5 million years ago in what is now northern Mexico. It contains a single species, Coahuilaceratops magnacuerna.

<i>Kosmoceratops</i> Dinosaur genus from the Late Cretaceous period

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.

<i>Titanoceratops</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Titanoceratops is a controversial genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur. It was a giant chasmosaurine ceratopsian that lived in the Late Cretaceous period in what is now New Mexico. Titanoceratops was named for its large size, being one of the largest known horned dinosaurs and the type species was named T. ouranos, after Uranus (Ouranos), the father of the Greek titans. It was named in 2011 by Nicholas R. Longrich for a specimen previously referred to Pentaceratops. Longrich believed that unique features found in the skull reveal it to have been a close relative of Triceratops, classified within the subgroup Triceratopsini. However, other researchers have expressed skepticism, and believe "Titanoceratops" to simply be an unusually large, old specimen of Pentaceratops.

<i>Ahshislepelta</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Ahshislepelta is a monospecific genus of ankylosaur dinosaur from New Mexico that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now the Hunter Wash Member of the Kirtland Formation. The type and only species, Ahshislepelta minor, is known only from an incomplete postcranial skeleton of a small subadult or adult individual. It was named in 2011 by Michael Burns and Robert M. Sullivan. Based on the size of the humerus, Ahshislepelta is larger than Pinacosaurus mephistocephalus but smaller than Talarurus and Pinacosaurus grangeri.

<i>Nasutoceratops</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Nasutoceratops is genus of ceratopsid dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous period, about 76.0–75.5 million years ago. The first known specimens were discovered in Utah in the Kaiparowits Formation of the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument (GSENM) from 2006 onwards, including a subadult skull with a partial postcranial skeleton and rare skin impressions and two other partial skulls. In 2013, the subadult was made the holotype of the new genus and species Nasutoceratops titusi; the generic name means "large-nosed horned face", and the specific name honors the paleontologist Alan L. Titus for his work at the GSENM. The dinosaur was noted for its large nose in news reports, and later featured in Jurassic World films.

<i>Judiceratops</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Judiceratops is an extinct horned dinosaur. It lived around 78 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous Period in what is now Montana, United States. Like other horned dinosaurs, Judiceratops was a large, quadrupedal herbivore. It is the oldest known chasmosaurine.

<i>Bravoceratops</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Bravoceratops is a genus of large chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur that lived approximately 70 million years ago, and is known from the Late Cretaceous Javelina Formation in what is now Texas, United States.

Denazinemys was a genus of baenid turtle that lived in the Late Cretaceous of New Mexico. The holotype specimen, which D. nodosa was based on, USNM 8345, consists of a partial carapace and plastron. It came from the De-na-zin Member of the Kirtland Formation, and therefore, Denazinemys lived in the Kirtlandian land-vertebrate age. Many specimens other than the holotype have been assigned to Denazinemys.

<i>Regaliceratops</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Regaliceratops is a monospecific genus of chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur from Alberta, Canada that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now the St. Mary River Formation. The type and only species, Regaliceratops peterhewsi, is known only from an adult individual with a nearly complete skull lacking the lower jaw, which was nicknamed "Hellboy". Regaliceratops was named in 2015 by Caleb M. Brown and Donald M. Henderson. Regaliceratops has an estimated length of 5 metres (16 ft) and body mass of 2 metric tons. The skull of Regaliceratops displays features more similar to centrosaurines, which suggests convergent evolution in display morphology in ceratopsids.

<i>Navajoceratops</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Navajoceratops is a genus of ceratopsid dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period of what is now North America. The genus contains a single species, N. sullivani, named after Robert M. Sullivan, leader of the expeditions that recovered the holotype.

<i>Menefeeceratops</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Menefeeceratops 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.

<i>Sierraceratops</i> Genus of chasmosaurine dinosaur (fossil)

Sierraceratops is a genus of chasmosaurine ceratopsian from the Late Cretaceous Hall Lake Formation of New Mexico, United States. The genus contains a single species, Sierraceratops turneri, known from a partial skeleton discovered in 1997.

The Hall Lake Formation, formerly called the Hall Lake Member, is a geological formation in Sierra County, New Mexico preserving Lancian fauna, most notably dinosaurs. It is regarded as a member of the McRae Group, including the Elephant Butte and Staton-LaPoint locales.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Dalman SG, Jasinski SE, Lucas SG (2022). "A new chasmosaurine ceratopsid from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Farmington Member of the Kirtland Formation, New Mexico". New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 90: 127–153.
  2. 1 2 Dalman, S.G.; Lucas, S.G.; Jasinski, S.E.; Longrich, N.R. (2022). "Sierraceratops turneri, a new chasmosaurine ceratopsid from the Hall Lake Formation (Upper Cretaceous) of south-central New Mexico". Cretaceous Research. 130: Article 105034. Bibcode:2022CrRes.13005034D. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.105034.