Regaliceratops: Beast of the Week

 This week we will be checking out a ceratopsian with unique and beautiful ornamentation.  Make way for Regaliceratops peterhewsi!

Regaliceratops was a ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in what is now Alberta, Canada, during the late Cretaceous period between 69 and 67 million years ago.  It is estimated to have measured about 16 feet (5 m) long and would have eaten plants when alive.  The genus name translates to "Regal Horned Face" because of the arrangement of horns around the edge of its frill resembles a crown.  The species name, peterhewsi, honors the geologist, Peter Hews, who initially discovered its remains.  Before it was officially named, Regaliceratops was casually nicknamed "Hellboy" by the paleontologists excavating and prepping its fossils because it was a particularly difficult job due to the unfavorable geology and intricate details of the skull they had to work around without damaging the specimen.  (not necessarily after the comic book character, Hellboy, even though the dinosaur and the character both have horns...which don't actually resemble each other anyway.)

Regaliceratops reconstruction in watercolor by Christopher DiPiazza.

Regaliceratops had a circular frill which was adorned with a row of flat, almond-shaped horns growing from its perimeter, including one in the middle, which is unusual since most ceratopsian frill ornamentation is paired on either side of the frill.  The center horn also is keeled down its midline, another unusual trait for ceratopsian ornamentation.  Regaliceratops had a relatively long horn growing from the top of its snout, and a small, narrow, forward-curving horns over its eyes.  As is the case with most ceratospians, experts think this elaborate headgear was connected to some kind of communication within the species, and possibly for combat within the species.  This doesn't mean a ceratopsian wouldn't have used its horns to defend itself against predators, but the drastic diversity from species to species over time in ceratopsian headgear suggests they were being selected for something more display-related.  If they were primarily for defense it would be more expected for them to be more similar to each other. (like ankylosaur armor or stegosaur tail spikes)

Skull of Regaliceratops on display at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Alberta, Canada. Photo credit Sue Sabrowski.

 

Regaliceratops is considered part of the chasmosaurine line of ceratopsians, which typically had longer frills, longer brow horns, and shorter nose horns.  Regaliceratops mostly goes against this trend having a long nose horn and short brow horns with a relatively shorter frill.  Similarities in other parts of the skull, however, to chasmosaurines, especially Triceratops, confirms Regaliceratops was indeed most closely related to them.  

When alive, Regaliceratops would have shared its habitat with other dinosaurs, like the ankylosaur Anodontosaurus, fellow ceratopsian, Pachyrhinosaurus, and the small predator, Atrociraptor.  It also would have needed to look out for the largest known predator of the area, the tyrannosaurid, Albertosaurus. 

References

Brown, Caleb M.; Henderson, Donald M. (June 4, 2015). "A new horned dinosaur reveals convergent evolution in cranial ornamentation in Ceratopsidae". Current Biology. 25 (12): 1641–8.

B. Weishampel, David; M. Barrett, Paul; A. Coria, Rodolfo; Le Loeuff, Jean; Xing, Xu; Xijin, Zhao; Sahni, Ashok; P. Gomani, Elizabeth M.; R. Noto, Christopher (2004). "Dinosaur Distribution". In Weishampel, D.B.; Dodson, P.; Osmolska, H. (eds.). The Dinosauria 2nd edition. pp. 517–606.