Achelousaurus

Achelousaurus

Achelousaurus
Scientific classification
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Reptilia

Achelousaurus was a herbivorous dinosaur. It lived between 83 million and 70 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period.[1]

In 1995 D. Scott Sampson became the first paleontologist to describe Achelousaurus.[2][3] This description was based on fossil remains of the dinosaur, which paleontologists discovered in Montana, United States, in North America.[2]

The scientific name Achelousaurus horneri was chosen in honor of the American paleontologist Jack Horner. Horner led the team that discovered the first Achelousaurus skull.[1]

Characteristics

Achelousaurus was similar to Pachyrhinosaurus and Einiosaurus.[1] All three of these dinosaurs were herbivores (they ate plants, not meat), and they lived in forested areas.[3] Their obvious hair ornaments were intended to attract females during mating season.[2]

Achelousaurus had a well-developed shield on the back of the head, provided with two slits that greatly reduced its weight. Above the eyes, it had two bony protrusions. Unlike Einiosaurus's curved horn, Achelosaurus had another elongated bony protrusion for a nose.

The skull of an adult Achelousaurus dinosaur is on display at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana, along with two other Achelosaurus specimens.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Achelousaurus | Skull, Fossils, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sampson, Scott D. (1995-12-27). "Two new horned dinosaurs from the upper Cretaceous Two Medicine Formation of Montana; with a phylogenetic analysis of the Centrosaurinae (Ornithischia: Ceratopsidae)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 15 (4): 743–760. doi:10.1080/02724634.1995.10011259. ISSN 0272-4634.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Floor, Ann (Fall 2000). "Bone Digger". Continuum: The Magazine of the University of Utah. Retrieved 2025-09-14.[permanent dead link]


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