Spiclypeus

Last updated

Spiclypeus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 76.24–75.21  Ma
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Spiclypeus Vienna Natural History Museum.jpg
Skull cast in Vienna
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Ornithischia
Suborder: Ceratopsia
Family: Ceratopsidae
Subfamily: Chasmosaurinae
Genus: Spiclypeus
Mallon et al., 2016
Species:
S. shipporum
Binomial name
Spiclypeus shipporum
Mallon et al., 2016

Spiclypeus (meaning "spike shield") is an extinct genus of chasmosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous Judith River Formation (late Campanian stage) of Montana, United States. [1]

Contents

Discovery

Skull reconstruction in multiple views, missing parts shown faded Spiclypeus.PNG
Skull reconstruction in multiple views, missing parts shown faded

In 2000, Bill D. Shipp, a nuclear physicist, bought the Paradise Point Ranch near the town of Winifred, in Fergus County. Believing that his land contained fossils, Shipp hired the local veteran fossil collector John C. Gilpatrick to explore the terrain together. On their first trip during an afternoon in September 2005, Shipp found the Spiclypeus specimen on his land in Montana. [2] He saw a thighbone jutting out of a hillside at the Judith River Breaks. Shipp then hired the amateur paleontologist Joe Small to excavate the fossils. At the cost of several hundred thousand dollars, a road was constructed to allow an excavator to remove the overburden covering the skull of the specimen. In 2007, Small and his team managed to secure all remaining bones. The fossils were prepared in the White River Preparium at Hill City. [1] They were studied by Christopher Ott at the Weis Earth Science Museum in Menasha to provide a scientific description. Peter Larson of the Black Hills Institute made casts of the bones. These were used to make a complete skull reconstruction, missing parts being based on those of Triceratops . Of this reconstruction again casts were made, sold to several musea. During this time the specimen was informally called "Judith" after the Judith River Formation. [2] In February 2015, paleontologist Jordan Mallon was asked to cooperate in writing a scientific publication naming the taxon. The specimen was sold to the Canadian Museum of Nature for $350,000, covering Shipp's expenses. [3]

Spiclypeus contains a single species, S. shipporum, first described and named in 2016 by Jordan C. Mallon, Christopher J. Ott, Peter L. Larson, Edward M. Iuliano and David C. Evans. The generic name is derived from Latin spica, meaning "spike", and clypeus, meaning "shield", in reference to its unique frill ornamented by many large spike-like horn ossifications on its margin. The specific name shipporum honours Dr. Bill and Linda Shipp, the original owners of the type specimen, and their family. [1]

Spiclypeus is known solely from the holotype CMN 57081 which is housed at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, Ontario. It is represented by a partial disarticulated skull (~50% complete), as well as several postcranial elements, among them vertebrae, ribs, a left humerus, a left ilium and the left hindlimb. Missing skull elements include the skull roof, the palate, the predentary and the rear of the lower jaws. It was collected from the lower Coal Ridge Member of the Campanian Judith River Formation several meters above the mid-Judith discontinuity, which dates it to between 76.24±0.18 and 75.21±0.12 million years ago. [1]

Description

Size and distinguishing traits

Life restoration with speculative quills Spiclypeus NT small.jpg
Life restoration with speculative quills

Spiclypeus has an estimated length of 4.5–6 metres (15–20 ft) and a weight of about three to four tonnes. [3]

Spiclypeus is unique among Chasmosaurinae in having a wrinkled nose bone contact on the side surface of the rear projection of the premaxilla. Spiclypeus is also unique in having the trait combination of eye-socket horncores that project to above and sideways, all six epiparietals (frill horns) that are fused at their base, first two epiparietals pairs that curl down the frill surface on its front side, and third epiparietal pair that points back and towards the mid-line of the frill. [1]

Among other chasmosaurines from the Judith River Formation, Spiclypeus can be directly distinguished from Judiceratops , Medusaceratops and Mercuriceratops . However, it is morphologically similar to the dubious ceratopsid species Ceratops montanus from the Judith River Formation and the dubious chasmosaurine species Pentaceratops aquilonius from the Dinosaur Park Formation (located just over the Canada–United States border and close in age) and in fact all three might represent a single species, which cannot be conclusively tested due to the fragmentary nature of the type specimens of these species. [1]

Skeleton

Elements of the frill and reconstruction Spiclypeus frill.PNG
Elements of the frill and reconstruction

The skull has a reconstructed length of 167 centimetres. The rostral bone, the core of the upper beak, is strongly hooked. The ascending branch of the praemaxilla has a very rough outer surface, with many deep pits, indicating a strong connection to the nasal bone. The depressions on the outer sides of the praemaxillae are not connected by a perforation, though the separating bone sheath is very thin at one millimetre. The triangular nose horn has a length of 166 millimetres. The maxilla has at least twenty-eight positions in the tooth battery, each featuring three to five stacked teeth. The postorbital, or brow, horns are 228 (left) and 246 (right) millimetres long. They strongly project to the side, at an angle of 50° with the midline of the skull. Their points gradually curve to below. [1]

The relatively flat skull frill has a triangular profile in top view, with slightly convex sides and diverging rear corners separated by a broad notch on the rear edge. The structure is pierced by large elongated openings, the parietal fenestrae. The frill of Spiclypeus features a unique pattern of skin ossifications or osteoderms ornamenting its edge. The side bones of the neck shield, the squamosals, bear episquamosals, with the holotype individual six on the left side and seven on the right side. The front episquamosal projects into the jugal notch between the frill and the cheek elements and forms a triangle six to seven centimetres in length. More to the rear, the episquamosals gradually become wider and lower, but ultimately increase in length again. [1]

The rear bones of the frill, the parietals, each carry three epiparietals. In Spiclypeus these are very wide osteoderms, connected and fused at their bases to form a continuous bone sheath covering almost the entire rear edge of the frill. At the wide notch at the centre of the rear frill edge, this sheath curls to the front, overgrowing the transverse parietal bar behind the fenestrae. The bone flap represents the first and second epiparietal pairs, the "P1s" and "P2s", as is evidenced by the osteoderm points still being visible, those of the first pair pointing to the front near the midline, those of the second pair forming the corners of the flap. The third epiparietals, pointing to behind, together form a pincer-like construction around the notch. At each rear corner of the frill a very large osteoderm is present. As it spans the suture between the squamosal and the parietal, this has been called an epiparietosquamosal or "EPS". [1]

Classification

Postorbital horncores in multiple views Spiclypeus horncores.PNG
Postorbital horncores in multiple views
Spiclypeus group defending against Daspletosaurus Spiclypeus defending against Daspletosaurus.jpg
Spiclypeus group defending against Daspletosaurus

Spiclypeus was placed in the Chasmosaurinae by Mallon et al. (2016). It was part of the Chasmosaurus instead of the Triceratops branch, as a sister species of a clade formed by Kosmoceratops and Vagaceratops . Below is the result of their phylogenetic analysis after the removal of Bravoceratops that groups either with Coahuilaceratops or in the Triceratops branch, and Eotriceratops that was found to decrease resolution in the Triceratops branch. Within Triceratopsini the analysis recovered a polytomy of six taxa including Ojoceratops , Titanoceratops , Nedoceratops , Torosaurus latus , "Torosaurus" utahensis , and a clade formed by the two species of Triceratops. [1]

Ceratopsidae  

Centrosaurinae

  Chasmosaurinae  

Utahceratops gettyi

Pentaceratops sternbergii

Spiclypeus shipporum

Kosmoceratops richardsoni

Vagaceratops irvinensis

Agujaceratops mariscalensis

Mojoceratops perifania

Chasmosaurus belli

Chasmosaurus russelli

Coahuilaceratops magnacuerna

Anchiceratops ornatus

Regaliceratops peterhewsi

Arrhinoceratops brachyops

Triceratopsini

Paleobiology

Teeth and microwear Spiclypeus teeth.PNG
Teeth and microwear

The type specimen of Spiclypeus appears to have sustained a significant infection in its frill, hypothesised by the authors to have been due to an injury inflicted by a rival of its own species. However, more evidence is needed to determine the cause of the infection. [3] Both the left and right squamosal had received longitudinal injuries. In itself it is not exceptional that adult individuals developed holes in their squamosals, due to bone resorption at an advanced age. However, the perforations in the shield of the Spiclypeus holotype are different in having a parallel orientation and being located close to the frill edge. It was concluded that they were probably the result of intraspecific combat, the brow horns of an opponent having pierced the shield bone. [1]

Humerus with evidence of infection (A-D), and ilium, femur, tibia, and fibula Appendicular elements of Spiclypeus.PNG
Humerus with evidence of infection (A-D), and ilium, femur, tibia, and fibula

Another, much more serious, infection was present in the left humerus. The entire lower half of the bone was diseased. Most of the lower joint surface must have been dysfunctional, a large abscess having largely eaten away the condyles. The bone had been reworked in reaction, rotating the joint over 90° from its normal orientation. In the middle of the shaft a deep drainage canal had developed, through which the pus ran out. Extensive remodelling of the bone shows that the infection had not been immediately lethal and was perhaps the result of a less virulent tuberculosis or fungus. The upper part of the humerus also was pathological, showing a large arthritic bone mass. [1]

Examination of the specimen's bones also indicates that this specimen was a mature individual at least ten years of age as there were no signs of on-going rapid growth associated with juvenile ceratopsians. [3]

The calfbone was sawed to determine the number of "lines of arrested growth" that are usually interpreted as annual growth lines. Seven of these LAGs are present and probably a minimum number of three lines had been obfuscated by later growth processes, resulting in the minimum age estimate of ten years. That the holotype individual had reached a relatively advanced age despite the severe infections, reflects the generally robust ceratopsid build. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Triceratops</i> Genus of ceratopsid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous

Triceratops is a genus of chasmosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur that lived during the late Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous period, about 68 to 66 million years ago in what is now western North America. It was one of the last-known non-avian dinosaurs and lived until the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event 66 million years ago. The name Triceratops, which literally means 'three-horned face', is derived from the Greek words trí- meaning 'three', kéras meaning 'horn', and ṓps meaning 'face'.

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

Torosaurus is a genus of herbivorous chasmosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur that lived during the late Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous period, between 68 and 66 million years ago, though it is possible that the species range might extend to as far back as 69 million years ago. Fossils have been discovered across the Western Interior of North America, from as far north as Saskatchewan to as far south as Texas.

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

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. With a length of 4.3–4.8 metres (14.1–15.7 ft) and a weight of 1.5–2 tonnes —or anywhere from 2,200 to nearly 5,000 lbs., give or take—Chasmosaurus was of a slightly smaller to ‘average’ size, especially when compared to larger ceratopsians. The Chasmosaurs were similar, in overall build and weight, to a white rhinoceros or an Indian rhinoceros; just like rhinos, and all other ceratopsians, they were purely herbivorous, needing to consume around 54 kilograms, or 120 lbs., of plant matter each day.

<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.

<i>Achelousaurus</i> Genus of ceratopsid dinosaur from North America

Achelousaurus is a genus of centrosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now North America, about 74.2 million years ago. The first fossils of Achelousaurus were collected in Montana in 1987, by a team led by Jack Horner, with more finds made in 1989. In 1994, Achelousaurus horneri was described and named by Scott D. Sampson; the generic name means "Achelous lizard", in reference to the Greek deity Achelous, and the specific name refers to Horner. The genus is known from a few specimens consisting mainly of skull material from individuals, ranging from juveniles to adults.

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

Anchiceratops is an extinct genus of chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur that lived approximately 72 to 71 million years ago during the latter part of the Cretaceous Period in what is now Alberta, Canada. Anchiceratops was a medium-sized, heavily built, ground-dwelling, quadrupedal herbivore that could grow up to an estimated 4.3 metres (14 ft) long. Its skull featured two long brow horns and a short horn on the nose. The skull frill was elongated and rectangular, its edges adorned by coarse triangular projections. About a dozen skulls of the genus have been found.

<i>Arrhinoceratops</i> Extinct species of dinosaurs

Arrhinoceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur. The name was coined as its original describer concluded it was special because the nose-horn was not a separate bone, however further analysis revealed this was based on a misunderstanding. It lived during the latest Campanian/earliest Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous, predating its famous relative Triceratops by a few million years, although it was contemporary with Anchiceratops. Its remains have been found in Canada.

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

Monoclonius is an extinct genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur found in the Late Cretaceous layers of the Judith River Formation in Montana, United States, and the uppermost rock layers of the Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta, Canada dated to between 75 and 74.6 million years ago.

Avaceratops is a genus of small herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaurs which lived during the late Campanian during the Late Cretaceous Period in what are now the Northwest United States. Most fossils come from the Judith River Formation.

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

Medusaceratops is an extinct genus of centrosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous Judith River Formation of Montana, northern United States. It contains a single species, Medusaceratops lokii.

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

Eotriceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaurs which lived in the area of North America during the late Cretaceous period. The only named species is Eotriceratops xerinsularis.

<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>Nasutoceratops</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Nasutoceratops is an extinct genus of ceratopsian dinosaur. It is a basal centrosaurine which lived during the Late Cretaceous Period. Fossils have been found in southern Utah, United States. Nasutoceratops was a large, ground-dwelling, quadrupedal herbivore with a short snout and unique rounded horns above its eyes that have been likened to those of modern cattle. Extending almost to the tip of its snout, these horns are the longest of all the members of the centrosaurine subfamily. The presence of pneumatic elements in the nasal bones of Nasutoceratops are a unique trait and are unknown in any other ceratopsid.

<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.

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.

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

Mercuriceratops is an extinct genus of herbivorous chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada and Montana, United States. It contains a single species, Mercuriceratops gemini.

<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>Wendiceratops</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Wendiceratops is a genus of herbivorous centrosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Canada.

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

Yehuecauhceratops is a genus of horned centrosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Coahuila, Mexico. It contains a single species, Y. mudei, described from two partial specimens by Rivera-Sylva et al. in 2016 and formally named by Rivera-Sylva et al. in 2017. It was a small centrosaurine with a body length of 3 metres (9.8 ft), making it smaller than Agujaceratops and Coahuilaceratops, the other two ceratopsids in its environment; the three may have been ecologically segregated. A ridge bearing a single roughened projection near the bottom of the squamosal bone, which probably supported a small horn, allows Yehuecauhceratops to be distinguished from other centrosaurines. Its affinities to nasutoceratopsin centrosaurines, such as Avaceratops and Nasutoceratops, are supported by various morphological similarities to the former.

<i>Terminocavus</i> Genus of ceratopsid dinosaurs (fossil)

Terminocavus is a genus of ceratopsid dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period of what is now North America. The genus contains a single species, the type species Terminocavus sealeyi, known from a parietal and some other associated fragments. The holotype specimen was discovered in the Kirtland Formation of New Mexico in 1997, and was later described and named in a 2020 study. It was similar in anatomy to Pentaceratops and Anchiceratops, which it was closely related to, but had a distinctive heart-shaped upper frill with very narrow notch. It has been hypothesized to form an anagenetic series with several other chasmosaur species.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Jordan C. Mallon; Christopher J. Ott; Peter L. Larson; Edward M. Iuliano; David C. Evans (2016). "Spiclypeus shipporum gen. et sp. nov., a Boldly Audacious New Chasmosaurine Ceratopsid (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Judith River Formation (Upper Cretaceous: Campanian) of Montana, USA". PLOS ONE. 11 (5): e0154218. Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1154218M. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0154218 . PMC   4871577 . PMID   27191389.
  2. 1 2 "Amateur Fossil Hunter Discovers Horny New Dinosaur in His Backyard". 19 May 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Horned dinosaur with nasty infection reveals new species | CBC News".