Discovering new species of dinosaurs with giant horns

About the episode

Researchers have discovered a new species of dinosaur in northern Montana, near the US-Canada border. Leuceratops rangeiformis It is the name of the huge animal, which is particularly impressive with its strangely large skull full of pointed features.

This animal belongs to a larger group of horned dinosaurs, which also includes Triceratops. Although they only appeared about 12 million years after this specimen. With their giant heads, topped with large neck shields and pointed horns, they both survived until the end of the Age of Dinosaurs.

Some of the structures on the head of this new dinosaur, which lived 78 million years ago, are the largest ever. The animal itself is also huge and must have been about 6.7 meters long and weighed 5 tons. These exceptional sizes may have arisen because the species lived in isolation on and around the island.

Researchers believe that these types of fascinating skull decorations could tell us more about the origins of ecosystems filled with different types of showy structures.

In the case of these dinosaurs, it’s not yet entirely certain what the giant neck armor was used for. The researchers who found this specimen suspected it either of impressing potential mates, or of species discrimination.

Five other types of dinosaurs were also found in the same place. This is exceptional in such a small area. According to scientists, the discovery of this new species also shows that the diversity within this group has been underestimated for a long time.

Read more about the discovery here: The newly discovered dinosaur features large, blade-like horns