Centrosaurus Fossil range: Late Cretaceous
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Sauropsida Superorder: Dinosauria Order: Ornithischia Suborder: Marginocephalia Infraorder: Ceratopsia Family: Ceratopsidae Subfamily: Centrosaurinae Tribe: Centrosaurini Genus: Centrosaurus Lambe, 1904
Species
C. Late Cretaceous (100mya - 65mya refers to the second half of the Cretaceous Period, named after the famous white Chalk cliffs of southern England Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia are air-breathing Cold-blooded Vertebrates that have skin covered in scales as opposed to hair or feathers Ornithischia (ɔrnɪˈθɪskiə) or Predentata is an extinct order of beaked herbivorous Dinosaurs The name ornithischia Marginocephalia ("fringed heads" is a Clade of Ornithischian Dinosaurs that includes the thick-skulled pachycephalosaurids, and horned Ceratopsia or Ceratopia (ˌsɛrəˈtɒpsiə/ /ˌsɛrəˈtoʊpiə Greek: "horned faces" is a group of herbivorous, beaked Dinosaurs Ceratopsidae (sometimes spelled Ceratopidae) is a speciose group of Marginocephalian Dinosaurs including Triceratops and Styracosaurus The Centrosaurinae is a subfamily of Ceratopsid Dinosaurs named by paleontologist Lawrence Lambe, in 1915 with Centrosaurus as Year 1904 ( MCMIV) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting on In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. apertus Lambe, 1904 C. Year 1904 ( MCMIV) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting on brinkmani Ryan & Russell, 2005

The name Centrosaurus (pronounced /ˌsɛtroʊˈsɔrəs/ SEN-tro-SAW-rus) means "pointed lizard" (from Greek kentron/κεντρον = "point or prickle" + sauros/σαυρος = "lizard") is an herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur from the late Cretaceous of North America, approximately 75 million years ago. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Ancient Greek language is the historical stage in the development of the Hellenic language family spanning the Archaic (c Ceratopsidae (sometimes spelled Ceratopidae) is a speciose group of Marginocephalian Dinosaurs including Triceratops and Styracosaurus The Cretaceous (kriːˈteɪʃəs, usually abbreviated 'K' for its German translation "Kreide" is a geologic period and system, reaching from the end of The name refers to the series of small hornlets placed along the margin of the frill, and not to the horn on its nose (which was unknown when the dinosaur was named). It is not to be confused with Kentrosaurus. Kentrosaurus (meaning "pointed lizard" ˌkɛtroʊˈsɔrəs KEN-troe-SAW-rus, from the Greek kentron/κεντρον

Description

Centrosaurus, with large nasal horn, exaggerated epoccipitals, and bony processes over the front of the frill. Epoccipital is an anatomical term for the distinctive Bones found lining the frills of Ceratopsid Dinosaurs The name is a misnomer Neck frill is the popular term for the relatively extense margin seen on the back of the heads of Reptiles with either a bony support such as those present on Museum of Victoria.

Like other centrosaurines, Centrosaurus had a single large horn over the nose. It may curve forwards or backwards in different species. A pair of horns is also found over the eyes; in Centrosaurus apertus these are directed upwards, whereas they are directed to the sides in C. brinkmani. The frill of Centrosaurus was moderately long and its edge bore small hornlets which gave it a scalloped appearance. C. apertus is distinguished by having two large hornlets which hook forwards over the frill, while in C. brinkmani these hornlets are small and covered with small, finger-like growths. Centrosaurus massive body was borne by stocky limbs, although at 18-20 ft (6m) it was not a particularly large dinosaur.

Classification

Centrosaurus gives its name to the Centrosaurinae subfamily to which it belongs. Its closest relatives appear to be Styracosaurus and Monoclonius. Styracosaurus (stɪˌrækəˈsɔrəs meaning "spiked lizard" from Greek styrax/στυραξ 'spike at the butt-end of a spear-shaft' Monoclonius (meaning "single stem" referring to the teeth which have a single root Cope 1876 was a Ceratopsian Dinosaur from the

Palaeobiology

Centrosaurus apertus.

Like other Ceratopsidae, the jaws of Centrosaurus were designed to shear through tough plant material; the frill provided an attachment for large jaw muscles. Ceratopsidae (sometimes spelled Ceratopidae) is a speciose group of Marginocephalian Dinosaurs including Triceratops and Styracosaurus Vast bonebeds of Centrosaurus are known from Dinosaur Provincial Park, in Alberta, Canada. Dinosaur Provincial Park is a World Heritage Site located about a two hours drive east of Calgary, Alberta, Canada or northeast of Alberta (ælˈbɝtə is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1 1905 Some of these beds extend for hundreds of meters and may contain thousands of individuals. They may represent a herd killed by a flood or other natural disaster.

External links

Centrosaurus apertus skull in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.

• Centrosaurus, from the Dinosaur Encyclopaedia at Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne