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Styracosaurus

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Dinosaurs

    iStyracosaurus

                        Fossil range: Late Cretaceous

   Model Styracosaurus, Bałtów Jurassic Park, Poland.
   Model Styracosaurus, Bałtów Jurassic Park, Poland.

                             Conservation status

   Extinct (fossil)
                Scientific classification

   Kingdom:    Animalia
   Phylum:     Chordata
   Class:      Sauropsida
   Superorder: Dinosauria
   Order:      Ornithischia
   Suborder:   Marginocephalia
   Infraorder: Ceratopsia
   Family:     Ceratopsidae
   Subfamily:  Centrosaurinae
   Tribe:      Centrosaurini
   Genus:      Styracosaurus
               Lambe, 1913

                                   Species

   S. albertensis
   S. ovatus

   Styracosaurus ('spiked lizard' from Greek styrax/στυραξ meaning 'spike
   at the butt-end of a spear-shaft' and saurus/σαυρος meaning 'lizard')
   was a herbivorous dinosaur from the Cretaceous Period, about 77 to 74
   million years ago. It had six long horns extending from its neck frill,
   a smaller horn above each of its eyes and a single horn protruding from
   its nose, at 60 centimeters (2 feet) long and 15 centimeters (6 inches)
   wide. It was a large dinosaur, reaching lengths of 5 meters (18 feet)
   and weighing as much as 3 tons. It stood about 1.8 meters (6 feet)
   tall. The Styracosaurus possessed four short legs and a bulky body. Its
   tail was rather short. It also had a beak and flat cheek teeth,
   indicating that its diet was herbivorous. Like other ceratopsians, this
   dinosaur was most likely to have been a herd animal, traveling in large
   groups and caring for its young after they hatched. Evidence of herding
   behaviour exists in the discovery of a bone bed in Arizona, USA with
   about 100 Styracosaurus fossils.

Discoveries and species

   The first fossil remains of Styracosaurus were collected in Alberta,
   Canada by C.M. Sternberg (from an area now known as the Dinosaur
   Provincial Park) and named by Lambe in 1913.

   The second currently recognised species, S. ovatus, from Montana, was
   described by Gilmore in 1930. The fossil material is limited but one
   unusual feature is that the pair of spikes closest to the midline
   converge towards the midline, rather than away from it as in S.
   albertensis.

In popular culture

   Styracosaurus has appeared in many dinosaur films, most notably The Son
   of Kong, The Valley of Gwangi, and Disney's Dinosaur.

   Styracosaurus was featured in the Vivendi Universal game, Jurassic
   Park: Operation Genesis.

   A Styracosaurus family appeared in the video game Banjo-Tooie.

   In Dinosaucers, the character Styraco is an anthropomorphic
   Styracosaurus.

   The fictional mechas Red Horn and Dark Horn of the Zoids anime are
   based on Styracosaurus.

Styracosaurus Species

     * S. albertensis
     * S. ovatus

   Misassignments:
     * S. parksi (limited fossil material, probably S. albertensis)

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Styracosaurus"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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