Centrosaurus — the horn-faced ceratopsian of Alberta

When and where

Centrosaurus lived roughly 76 to 75 million years ago in what is now the Canadian province of Alberta. Its fossils come from the Dinosaur Park Formation, a stretch of river-deposited rock that preserves a rich floodplain ecosystem from the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous. The bone beds suggest these animals moved in large herds.

How we know

In 1904, Canadian palaeontologist Lawrence Lambe described the first Centrosaurus fossils from Alberta. The genus name means "pointed lizard", a reference to the horn projections on its face. Since Lambe’s initial finds, bone beds containing hundreds of individuals have been uncovered in Dinosaur Provincial Park. The sheer density of remains makes Centrosaurus one of the best-represented ceratopsians in the fossil record. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrosaurus

What set it apart

Centrosaurus carried a single, large nose horn and a shorter neck frill edged with smaller spikes or hooks. Unlike Triceratops, which bore two long brow horns, Centrosaurus had reduced or absent horns above the eyes. Its frill was relatively short and deeply notched, giving the skull a compact, heavily armoured look. The body was stocky and low-slung, built for grazing on tough Cretaceous vegetation.

For collectors and classrooms

A Centrosaurus figurine stands out because it highlights the nose-horn body plan rather than the triple-horn design most people expect from ceratopsians. Models replicate the distinctive frill spikes and solid build that made this genus so different from its better-known cousins. Browse Centrosaurus figures on Amazon