Styracosaurus Facts for Kids

A Picture of Styracosaurus Albertensis
  • Species Type: Styracosaurus Albertensis
  • Type of Dinosaur: Ceratopsia
  • Period: Cretaceous Period
  • Diet: Foliage (herbivorous)
  • Life Span: Unknown
  • Length: 18 feet (average)
  • Weight: 3 tons (average)

13 Styracosaurus Facts for Kids

  1. The Styracosaurus was discovered in 1913 by Charles Mortram Sternberg in the Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta, Canada.
  2. The Styracosaurus got its scientific name Styracosaurus albertensis in 1913, by Lawrence Lambe.
  3. The name Styracosaurus means: “Spiked Lizard”.
  4. The name Styracosaurus is pronounced: “stih-RAK-uh-SAWR-us”.
  5. The Styracosaurus was part of a group of dinosaurs known as ceratopsians.
  6. They lived in the Cretaceous Period (Campanian stage) between 75 and 75.5 million years ago.
  7. The average length of a Styracosaurus is around 18 feet.
  8. The average weight of a Styracosaurus is around 3 tons.
  9. Styracosaurus was a herbivore that ate a wide variety of vegetation near the ground.
  10. The horn that protruded from the nose of a Styracosaurus could have reached up to 2 feet in length.
  11. A notable feature of the Styracosaurus is the six parietal spikes that extended from its neck frill.
  12. Paleontologists think the nose horn and the six parietal spikes on the Styracosaurus’s neck frill might have been used as defensive weapons against predators.
  13. Paleontologists have found evidence in bonebeds that shows the Styracosaurus might of been a herding dinosaur.

Additional Resources on Styracosaurus

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