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Centrosaurus apertus

Centrosaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 76.5–75.5 Ma
Centrosaurus apertus skull and jaws, Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada, Late Cretaceous - Royal Ontario Museum - DSC00078.JPG
Skull ROM 767 from Dinosaur Provincial Park
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Dinosauria
Order: Ornithischia
Family: Ceratopsidae
Genus: Centrosaurus
Lambe, 1905
Species: C. apertus
Binomial name
Centrosaurus apertus
Lambe, 1905
Synonyms
  • Monoclonius nasicornus
    Brown, 1917
  • Eucentrosaurus apertus
    (Lambe, 1904) Chure & McIntosh, 1989

Centrosaurus (/ˌsɛntrˈsɔːrəs/ SEN-tro-SAWR-əs) is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaurs from the late Cretaceous of Canada. Their remains have been found in the Dinosaur Park Formation, dating from 76.5 to 75.5 million years ago.

The name Centrosaurus means "pointed lizard" (from Greek kentron, κέντρον, "point or prickle" and sauros, σαῦρος, "lizard"), and refers to the series of small hornlets placed along the margin of their frills, not to the nasal horns (which were unknown when the dinosaur was named). The genus is not to be confused with the stegosaur Kentrosaurus, the name of which is derived from the same Greek word.

The massive bodies of Centrosaurus were borne by stocky limbs, although at up to 6 m (19.7 ft) they were not particularly large dinosaurs. Like other centrosaurines, Centrosaurus bore single large horns over their noses. These horns curved forwards or backwards depending on the specimen. Skull ornamentation was reduced as animals aged.

Centrosaurus is distinguished by having two large hornlets which hook forwards over the frill. A pair of small upwards directed horns is also found over the eyes. The frills of Centrosaurus were moderately long, with fairly large fenestrae and small hornlets along the outer edges.


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