I Know Dino Podcast: Pentaceratops

Episode 15 is all about Pentaceratops, a new ceratopsian dinosaur discovered after gathering dust in a museum in Canada for more than 75 years.

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In this episode, we discuss:

The species was discovered in 2014, after its fossils were gathering dust in a Canadian museum for over 75 years
Dr. Nick Longrich, from the University of Bath in England, realized it was a new species when he studied them
He saw that Pentaceratops, along with a second dinosaur, Kosmoceratops, was more similar to dinosaurs from the American Southwest

Originally Pentaceratops was classified as Anchiceratops and the second dinosaur as Chasmosaurus
Penteceratops aquilonius was more like a primitive version of Pentaceratops sternbergii (discovered in 1921) from New Mexico
There are a lot of different kinds of Chasmosaurinae (large, horned dinosaurs with frills), probably because dinosaurs spread out all over the continent and then adapted and evolved into new species. Competition between these groups would have kept them from moving after (between north and south)

This is why scientists have found so many species in different habitats
There are at least 10 types of chasmosaurs, and the northern and southern species look different
The way dinosaurs are distributed is different from how current mammals are distributed. Mammals tend to be smaller but live in large ranges. Dinosaurs in the Cretaceous tend to be larger but living in smaller regions

Longrich said mammals may be more intelligent, “so they tend to have more flexible behavior, and adapt their behavior to their habitats.” “On the other hand, dinosaurs may have had to adapt themselves physically to survive in a different habitat, and evolved new species. Perhaps that’s the reason why there are so many species.”
Pentaceratops aquilonius is small (the size of a buffalo), and a cousin of Triceratops
Scientists think Pentaceratops may have grown bigger than the one found in the museum (which may have been a juvenile)

Pentaceratops has five horns on its face, compared to three horns on Triceratops
Pentaceratops also had a different shaped frill and may have lived in Alberta
Pentaceratops aquilops is party of the subfamily Chasmosaurinae (ceratopsians)

Chasmosaurs are known for their large brow horns, and long frills
Most lived in western Canada, western U.S., and northern Mexico
The first Pentaceratops fossils were found in 1921 (Pentaceratops sternbergii)

Pentaceratops lived 76-73 million years ago, and most Pentaceratops have been found in the Kirtland Formation in New Mexico
Other dinosaurs found in that formation include Parasaurolophus cyrtocristatus, Sphaerotholus (pachycephalosaur), Nodocephalosaurus (armored dinosaur) and Bistahieversor (tyrannosaur). Also, Titanoceratops, which is closer to Triceratops than Pentaceratops
Fun fact: Dinosaurs lived on all the seven continents, even Antarctica

I Know Dino Podcast: Pentaceratops (Episode 15)