Pentaceratops
Pentaceratops sternbergi
Pronounced: Pen - tah - Sair - ah - tops
Diet: Herbivore (Plant-Eater)
Name Means: "Five Horned Face"
Length: 26 Feet (8 m)
Height: 13 Feet (4 m)
Weight: 3 tons (2700 kilos)
Time: Cretaceous - 72 million years ago
Fossil remains for this
Dinosaur have been found in
Southwestern United States
Pentaceratops was a member of the family of dinosaurs known as ceratopsian, of which Triceratops was also a member. It was a fairly large plant-eater that had a long neck frill with large holes in the bone. These holes would have been covered with skin. It had long horns over its eyes and a smaller horn over its nose.
Pentaceratops gets its name of "Five Horned Face" not because it had five horns, but because it had longer epijugals - the spike-like cheek projections that are present on all ceratopsians to some degree. This dinosaur had a very large frill and to date, no complete frill has been found. These large frills may have been used as a display against frontal threats. There is some discussion that Chasmosaurus and Pentaceratops belong in the same genus. |
