About Kosmoceratops
| Scientific Name (Genus) | Kosmoceratops |
| Meaning of Name | Ornate horned face kosmos (ornate) [Greek] - kerat (horn) [Greek] - ops (face) [Greek] |
| Classification | Ornithischia, Marginocephalia (Ceratopsia) |
| Total Length | Approx. 5m |
| Diet | Herbivorous |
| Period | Late Cretaceous |
| Species | Kosmoceratops richardsoni *The species name richardsoni honors one of its discoverers, Scott Richardson. |
| Year of Paper Publication | 2010 |
| Genus Name Publication | New Horned Dinosaurs from Utah Provide Evidence for Intracontinental Dinosaur Endemism. PLoS ONE. 5. by Scott D. Sampson, Mark A. Loewen, Andrew A. Farke, Eric M. Roberts, Catherine A. Forster, Joshua A. Smith, Alan L. Titus. 2010. |
Features
Kosmoceratops was a ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous period, about 76 million years ago. It was discovered in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, USA, and named in 2010.
The most striking feature of Kosmoceratops is its 15 horns. It had one on its nose, one above each eye, two on the sides of its cheeks, and ten horns hanging down from the back of its frill.
As can be seen from the horns above the eyes pointing outwards and downwards, these ornaments were not weapons for self-defense against carnivorous dinosaurs, but rather displays for communication with its own kind. Like the antlers of modern deer or the feathers of a peacock, they were likely used as markers for species recognition, to attract mates, or to intimidate rivals.
Also, its frill was short for a chasmosaurine, which may be the result of prioritizing its function as a display over defense.
A Strange Inhabitant of the Lost Continent of Laramidia
The mystery of Kosmoceratops's strange appearance becomes clear when we look at the map of North America during the time it lived. In the Late Cretaceous, the continent of North America was divided by a shallow sea (the Western Interior Seaway), and the western part was a long, narrow island continent called "Laramidia."
In the northern part of this Laramidian continent (present-day Alberta, Canada, etc.) and the southern part (present-day Utah, USA, etc.), completely different types of dinosaurs lived, despite it being the same period. Kosmoceratops was an endemic ceratopsian that evolved uniquely in the southern part of this isolated Laramidian continent.
Researchers believe that because they needed to recognize their own kind and appeal to rivals and mates within a limited area, they evolved very flashy and complex ornaments that were completely different from those of ceratopsians in other regions. The bizarre appearance of Kosmoceratops is truly a work of art born from a "lost continent."