Judiceratops

Name: Judiceratops ‭(‬Judith horned face‭ ‬-‭ ‬after the Judith River Formation‭)‬.
Phonetic: Ju-dee-seh-rah-tops.
Named By: Nicholas R.‭ ‬Longrich‭ ‬-‭ ‬2013.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Ornithischia,‭ ‬Ceratopsia,‭ ‬Ceratopsidae,‭ ‬Chasmosaurinae.
Species: J.‭ ‬tigris‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Unknown due to lack of remains.
Known locations: USA,‭ ‬Montana‭ ‬-‭ ‬Judith River Formation.
Time period: Campanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Incomplete skull.




       The key thing about Judiceratops is that at the time of its description it appears to be the oldest known chasmosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur.‭ ‬Unfortunately only an incomplete skull is known for the genus,‭ ‬so figures on size and a confirmed arrangement of horns and neck frill are a little tricky to establish.
       Judiceratops is the second confirmed chasmosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur to be named from the Judith River Formation‭; ‬the first was Medusaceratops in‭ ‬2010.‭ ‬At the time of its discovery the only other two ceratopsian dinosaurs confirmed as being in the Judith River Formation are the centrosaurines Avaceratops and Albertaceratops.‭ ‬Other genera have been considered,‭ ‬but their remains are often considered dubious.
       Aside from ceratopsian dinosaurs,‭ ‬Judiceratops may have shared its habitat with hadrosaurid dinosaurs such as Lambeosaurus and Brachylophosaurus.‭ ‬Small predatory dinosaurs such as the dromaeosaur Dromaeosaurus and the troodontid Troodon also seem to have been present.‭ ‬The main threat for Judiceratops however would come from tyrannosaurs like Gorgosaurus.

Further reading
-‭ ‬Judiceratops tigris,‭ ‬a New Horned Dinosaur from the Middle Campanian Judith River Formation of Montana,‭ ‬Nicholas R.‭ ‬Longrich‭ ‬-‭ ‬2013.



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