"Duranteceratops"

Dubious as a Deinodon!

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This article belongs to a doubtful taxon, and may not exist! Please read with caution as it may be inaccurate information.

"Duranteceratops" Temporal range: Late Cretaceous PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
The skull of "Duranteceratops"
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Order:	Ornithischia
Suborder:	Ceratopsia
Genus:	†"Duranteceratops" Detrich and Carter, 2017 (In a Magazine)
Species:	N/A
Binomial name
† "Duranteceratops" Detrich and Carter, 2017 (In a Magazine)

"Duranteceratops" (meaning "Lasting horned face") is an alleged taxon (nomen nudum) of a Chasmosaurine Ceratopsian that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous. Its fossils have been discovered from the Hell Creek Formation in South Dakota. It possibly measured around 7.4 metres (24.3 feet) and weighed approximately 5.0 tonnes (5.5 short tons). Its genus was first informally mentioned in a magazine, with the name suggested by palaeontologists Alan Detrich and John Carter, the latter of who discovered the dinosaur. To this day, "Duranteceratops" still has no species name and remains just a genus. It lived about 72 to 66 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous epoch.

Description

In 2012, the unearthed "Duranteceratops" skull was considered 'distinguishable' from the skull of Triceratops, even though it lived at nearly the same time and same place as “Duranteceratops”. The skull was bought by Alan Deitrich in Buffalo later that year. The skull of this dinosaur is also almost the size of an human and very well preserved. The "Duranteceratops" skull is nearly 9 feet long (confirmed by Neal and Pete Larson). Notably, there is an abnormally forward-protruding 43 cm (7 inch) long nasal horn located on the tip of the jaw. The frill is curved upwards like that of Sinoceratops or Machairoceratops, though not included with upper horns like Machairoceratops.

Carter and Detrich, agreeing that the skull is different from Triceratops, consider it as a distinct species, and yet this still hasn't been confirmed. Denver Fowler, though having not seen the specimen in person, believes that "Duranteceratops" is actually a crushed Triceratops prorsus skull with a posteriorly-pushing narial strut and a missing rostral. He suggests that the specimen is not only pathological, but that the nasal horn is comparable to those of late T. prorsus and that the added height seems to be due to the nasals and narial strut being distorted. However, none of those theories have been scientifically confirmed and the whereabouts of the "Duranteceratops" specimen has remained unknown since 2015.

Discovery & Naming

This fossil was unearthed in South Dakota by John Carter, a poacher and amateur fossil hunter, in South Dakota, and so far only one specimen has been found. In Prehistoric Times (Spring 2017: no. 121), the species was to be named "Duranteceratops". The name was suggested by Alan Detrich and John Carter. The name of this dinosaur comes from Latin, meaning "Lasting horned face". Currently, "Duranteceratops" does not have a species name due to being informally named without proper publishing backing it.

Classification

"Duranteceratops" is informally classified within the the ceratopsian subfamily Chasmosaurinae of the Ceratopsidae family. This is due to its many similarities to Triceratops, having long brow horns and a large triangular frill. Its closest relative is considered to be Triceratops prorsus.

Palaeoecology

As previously mentioned, "Duranteceratops" lived with many other famous dinosaurs within the Hell Creek formation, and this was also at the time where the most well-known dinosaurs roamed that formation. This includes the two species of Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus rex, Edmontosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Acheroraptor, Pectinodon and many others. Due to its large size, it was likely only hunted by the apex predator of the area, the Tyrannosaurus rex, and may have also lived in herds, due to there being some evidence of Triceratops living in herds and its similarities to Triceratops. It also must have eaten similar foods to Triceratops, such as fruits, leaves, twigs and ferns off of the various plants in the area.