Menefeeceratops

Paleo Illustration by paleo artist Sergey Krasovskiy

Menefeeceratops is a genus of ceratopsid dinosaur from the Menefee Formation in New Mexico, United States. It is potentially the oldest known member of the centrosaurine subfamily, related to animals including Yehuecauhceratops and Crittendenceratops. The type and only species is Menefeeceratops sealeyi.

Discovery and naming

First described in scientific literature in 1997, Menefeeceratops was not given a name until it was revisited in 2021 by Sebastian Dalman, Peter Dodson, and colleagues. The holotype specimen, NMMNH P-25052, was discovered in the Cretaceous rocks of the Menefee Formation. Menefeeceratops is named from the location where the fossils were found, and in honor of Paul Sealey, the research associate at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science who discovered them in 1996.

Description

The dinosaur's name meaning "Menefee Formation horned face". The genus first described in scientific literature in 1997, it was not given a name until it was officially revisited in 2021 by Sebastian Dalman, Peter Dodson, and colleagues. Based on comparisons with its relatives, it is believed to have grown up to 4 metres (13 feet) in life. The horned dinosaur lived in New Mexico, North America, 82 million years ago. It is one of the earliest known ceratopsid species. Menefeeceratops sealeyi adds important information to scientists' understanding of the evolution of ceratopsid dinosaurs, which are characterized by horns and frills, along with beaked faces. In particular, the discovery sheds light on the centrosaurine subfamily of horned dinosaurs, of which Menefeeceratops is believed to be the oldest member. Its remains offer a clearer picture of the group's evolutionary path before it went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous.

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Other Wikis

https://prehistoric-wiki.fandom.com/wiki/Menefeeceratops