Discovery of the ‘Loki-faced’ Dinosaur: A Closer Look at the Horned Frill

In a recent discovery made by scientists, a new species of dinosaur herbivore with giant horns has been found in a swampy area in Montana, USA, near the Canadian border. The Lokiceratops rangiformis, which means “horned face of Loki” named after the Norse god Loki and rangiformis meaning different lengths of the horns on each side of the frill, is believed to have lived more than 78 million years ago in the swamps and plains along the eastern coast of Laramidia.

This dinosaur had over 200 teeth used to cut vegetation, measuring about 6.7 meters long and weighing around five tons. What sets this new species apart from other ceratopsians is its unique features such as the absence of a horn on the nose, enormous curved, blade-like horns on the back of the frill, and a distinctive tip in the middle of the frill. The centrosauruses, a family of horned dinosaurs, underwent rapid evolution and lived in small geographic areas across Laramidia.

The research on this new species was funded by several institutions including the Museum of Evolution, the University of Utah, and the National Science Foundation. The dinosaur was first discovered and excavated in 2019 by Mark Eatman and is now on display at the Museum of Evolution in Denmark. Replicas are also located at various museums including Royal Ontario Museum in Canada and Utah Museum of Natural History in USA. This discovery sheds light on the evolution and diversity of horned dinosaurs during late Cretaceous period.

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This article provides an interesting look into one aspect of prehistoric life while also highlighting some current research being done to further our understanding about these creatures that once roamed our planet.