Current Events: Move over, Ticeratops!

Move over, Triceratops! Maria L. , 7A, 9/29/10, Science

The Triceratops has always stood out among other dinosaurs because of its great horned face and head. But due to a new discovery it looks like the Triceratops wasn’t the only dinosaur to have pretty impressive head gear. In southern Utah two new giant horned dinosaurs where found recently, and have been named Utahceratops gettyi and Kosmoceratops richardsoni. Both of these dinosaurs are part of the same family as the Ticeratops. Something that is similar in all these names is the the word Ceratops which means Horned Face in Greek. The reason all these dinosaurs have this in their names is because they all have horns on their face. The Kosnoceratops richardsoni was an impressive find because of its interesting skull which has 15 bony horns and is the most decorated of all dinosaurs. “ Kosmoceratops is one of the most amazing animals known, with a huge skull decorated with an assortment of bony bells and whistles,” says Scott Sampson , research curator at the Utah Museum of Natural History and host of the OBS television series Dinosaur Train. How did the Utahceratops gettyi get its name? From the state in which it was found, combined with ceratops .And gettyi is includedbecause of the person who discovered the dinosaur Mike Getty. Kosmoceratops richardsoni is kosmos which means “ornate” combinded with ceratops. This then follows with the part that honors the founder, Scott Richardson in this case. The site of excavation for both dinosaurs is located in the Grand- Staircase-Escalante National Monument. This site covers 1.9 million acres and rests on what previously was Laramidia. It is the largest national monument in the U.S and one of the last undisturbed dig sites for dinosaurs.

I thought this article was interesting because not only did I learn more about dinosaurs I also learnt about how the dinosaurs are named and a lot of Latin terms. I think this has quite a positive effect on the world because this can also help us later on discover more dinosaurs. I wonder if the species and the Ticeratops had any other things, except for name and the same kind of face with horns, in common. Did they eat the same things, live in same environments, etc.Since scientists have shown that the more complex a creature is the better chance it has of survival. So in conclusion since these dinosaurs are so complex they probably have quite a could chance of survival. This is an adaptation and this is what this article has to do with our unit. If you want to learn more visit: The dinosaur