''Navajoceratops'' (meaning "Navajo horned face") is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

ceratopsid Ceratopsidae (sometimes spelled Ceratopidae) is a family of ceratopsian dinosaurs including ''Triceratops'', '' Centrosaurus'', and '' Styracosaurus''. All known species were quadrupedal herbivores from the Upper Cretaceous. All but one species are ...

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

from the late

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

Period Period may refer to: Common uses * Period (punctuation) * Era, a length or span of time *Menstruation, commonly referred to as a "period" Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (o ...

of what is now

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. The genus contains a single species, ''N. sullivani'', named after Robert M. Sullivan, leader of the expeditions that recovered the

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

Geological map of the southeast San Juan Basin

The holotype specimen, SMP VP-1500, collected in 2002, consists of a partial skull. It was discovered in the

Campanian The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous Series. Campa ...

Hunter Wash Member of the

Kirtland Formation The Kirtland Formation (originally the Kirtland Shale) is a Sedimentary rock, sedimentary geological formation. Description The Kirtland Formation is the product of alluvial muds and overbank sand deposits from the many channels draining the ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. It was informally named in 2016. ''Navajoceratops'' was a member of the

Chasmosaurinae Chasmosaurinae is a subfamily of ceratopsid dinosaurs. They were one of the most successful groups of herbivores of their time. Chasmosaurines appeared in the early Campanian, and became extinct, along with all other non- avian dinosaurs, durin ...

. Alongside fellow chasmosaurine ''

Terminocavus ''Terminocavus'' is a genus of Ceratopsidae, ceratopsid dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period (geology), Period of what is now North America. The genus contains a single species, the type species ''Terminocavus sealeyi'', known from a parietal ...

'', also from the Kirtland Formation and described in the same paper, ''Navajoceratops'' was found to represent a stratigraphic and morphological intermediate between ''

Pentaceratops ''Pentaceratops'' ("five-horned face") is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period of what is now North America. Fossils of this animal were first discovered in 1921, but the genus was named in 1923 when its ty ...

'' and ''

Anchiceratops ''Anchiceratops'' ( ) is an extinct genus of chasmosaurinae, chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur that lived approximately 72 to 71 million years ago during the latter part of the Cretaceous Period (geology), Period in what is now Alberta, Canada. ' ...

''. ''Navajoceratops'' was also found to be marginally less derived than ''Terminocavus''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q96077708 Chasmosaurinae Dinosaur genera Campanian dinosaurs Kirtland Formation Fossil taxa described in 2020 Dinosaurs of the United States

See also

References