Coronosaurus is a genus of centrosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in Alberta, Canada during the Late Cretaceous period.
Discovery and naming[]
Coronosaurus is known from two bonebeds within the Oldman Formation of southern Alberta, Canada. Multiple specimens have been found. In 1996 and 2000 its remains were excavated by Philip Currie. Its name means "crowned lizard", referring to the crown-like arrangement of horns around the rim of its frill. It was originally named as a species of Centrosaurus in 2005. Its species name is C. brinkmani.
Description[]
A close relative of Centrosaurus, Coronosaurus lived 77 million years ago, during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period. It was around 16.4 feet (5 meters) in length and weighed 2.2 tons (1.9 tonnes). It looked much like Centrosaurus and Styracosaurus, with the most notable difference being the horn sizes and shapes around the frill's edge.
Classification[]
Paleoecology[]
Located in southern Alberta, the Oldman Formation is primarily comprised of light-colored sandstone, with rocks up to 130 feet (39.6 meters) thick. It is primarily known for its diversity of dinosaur fossils. Coronosaurus lived alongside the hadrosaurs Maiasaura, Corythosaurus, Brachylophosaurus, and Parasaurolophus, the ceratopsians Chasmosaurus, Albertaceratops, Wendiceratops, and Gremlin, and the theropods Dromaeosaurus, Struthiomimus, Saurornitholestes, and Daspletosaurus.
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