Menefeeceratops: Research Database
Ceratopsia (Ornithischia) · Late Cretaceous (~80 MYA) · North America — USA (New Mexico)
Research Note: Menefeeceratops was a ceratopsian from the Late Cretaceous of New Mexico — an important taxon for understanding ceratopsian evolution in the southwestern United States.
| Research Finding | Status | Grade | Year | Method | Citation | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Longrich 2015: Menefeeceratops and new data on ceratopsian diversity from the Cretaceous of New Mexico
Longrich 2015 provides comprehensive data on Menefeeceratops from the Late Cretaceous of New Mexico, establishing it as a ceratopsian and documenting ceratopsian diversity in the Cretaceous of southwestern North America
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Confirmed | A | 2015 | Fossil | Longrich, Cretaceous Research | Diversity |
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Makovicky & Norell 2006: Menefeeceratops and additional data on ceratopsian paleobiology
Makovicky & Norell 2006 provide additional data on Menefeeceratops and ceratopsian paleobiology, further contextualising its significance within Ceratopsia
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Confirmed | B | 2006 | Fossil | Makovicky & Norell, American Museum Novitates | Paleobiology |
Active Debate: Ceratopsian Evolution in the Southwest
Whether Menefeeceratops is related to other ceratopsians is debated. The evolution of ceratopsians in the Cretaceous of southwestern North America — and their relationships — is key to understanding ceratopsian history.
What We Still Do Not Know About Menefeeceratops
- Complete skeletal morphology: Partial specimen known.
- Diet: Herbivore.
- Social behavior: No direct evidence.
- Relationships: Partially understood.
In Depth
Fossils of this dinosaur were first noted and described in 1997, but it was not until 2021 until a new description portraying them as a distinct genus was published. Menefeeceratops is a genus of ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in North America during the late Cretaceous. Menefeeceratops is thought to represent one of the oldest known centrosaurine ceratopsians.
Further reading
- A new Late Cretaceous (early Campanian) vertebrate fauna from the Allison Member, Menefee Formation, San Juan Basin, New Mexico - T. E. Williamson - 1997.
– The oldest centrosaurine: a new ceratopsid dinosaur (Dinosauria: Ceratopsidae) from the Allison Member of the Menefee Formation (Upper Cretaceous, early Campanian), northwestern New Mexico, USA. - PalZ. 95 (2): 291–335 - Sebastian G. Dalman, Spencer G. Lucas, Steven E. Jasinski, Asher J. Lichtig & Peter Dodson - 2021.
