Unveiling a Novel Dino Species: Lokiceratops rangiformis Unearthed in the USA
Unusual-horned dinosaur species unveiled in recent discovery.
Back in 2019, a team of researchers came across a bunch of tiny dinosaur bones scattered throughout the northern region of the USA. What they didn't expect was that these bones would fit together to form the skeleton of a brand new species they later named "Lokiceratops rangiformis".
American paleontologists, Mark Loewen of the University of Utah and Joseph Sertich from Colorado State University, revealed this new dinosaur species in a reputable journal called "PeerJ". Being intriguing horned beings, they thought it only fitting to name the newly discovered species after the Norse trickster god, Loki. The Lokiceratops' name being "Loki's horned face, resembling a caribou" gives you a good idea of what they were going for.
Loewen and Sertich are scientific consultants for the Museum of Evolution in Denmark, where the Lokiceratops now calls home. According to Loewen, "this Norse god theme kinda suits our new friend with those bent horns, doesn't it?" referring to Loki's distinctive helmet horns.
Putting the Pieces Together Leads to a New Species
It was an excavation squad out in Montana, USA, that initially unearthed bone fragments of this dinosaur in 2019, around 3.2 km south of the USA-Canada border. At first, the team wasn't sure if they were dealing with a new species, given all the large, plate-like bone fragments. However, it wasn't until Sertich and Loewen pieced together the numerous small fragments that they realized they'd stumbled upon a previously unknown dinosaur species.
"This new dinosaur pushes the boundaries for the odd head embellishments among the Ceratopsians, as it boasts the largest brow horns ever seen on one of these dinosaurs," says Sertich. Estimated to be about 6.7 meters long and weighing around 5 tons, the Lokiceratops is the largest dinosaur in the horned dinosaur family, the Ceratopsia, but lacked the typical nasal horn its relatives sported.
"These weird skull decorations provide us with a 'map to understanding the variety among horned dinosaurs,'" says the paleontologist. What's more, they highlight the diverse ecosystems during the Cretaceous period. The Lokiceratops seems to be most similar to its cousins, the Albertaceratops and Medusaceratops.
Spectacular Diversity of the Cretaceous Era
The Lokiceratops was excavated from the same rock layer as four other dinosaur species. According to the researchers, this suggests that around 78 million years ago, five unique dinosaur species were living harmoniously in North America.
Three of these species were closely related but were not found outside this region. "This incredible diversity shows that five species living together is something you'd see today in the savannas of East Africa with various horned hoofed animals," notes Sertich. The discovery of Loki demonstrates that these species evolved rapidly in a small area, a process sometimes observed in birds.
When the Triceratops appeared 12 million years later, regional differences between two horned dinosaur species had emerged from Canada to Mexico—possibly as a response to a more homogeneous climate, according to Sertich.
The study, according to the authors, challenges our understanding of the diversity and relationships within the horned dinosaur phylogenetic tree and offers the most detailed phylogenetic tree of the same. "Lokiceratops helps us realize that we're barely scratching the surface when it comes to understanding the diversity and relationships within the horned dinosaur phylogenetic tree," said Loewen.
