Paleontologists have identified a new genus and species of horned, plant-eating dinosaur that lived in Laramidia – a landmass formed when a shallow sea flooded the central region of North America – about 76 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous Period.

The newly discovered dinosaur, named Nasutoceratops titusi, belongs to a group of big-bodied horned dinosaurs called ceratopsids, the same family as the famous Triceratops. More specifically, they are members of the subset of ceratopsids known as centrosaurines, with Avaceratops being the closest known relative within this smaller subset of horned dinosaurs.

Nasutoceratops fossils were unearthed in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, which encompasses 1.9 million acres of high desert terrain in south-central Utah.

This herbivorous dinosaur was about 15 feet (5 m) long and weighed 2.5 tones.

Nasutoceratops had several unique features, including an oversized nose relative to other members of the family, and exceptionally long, curving, forward-oriented horns over the eyes. The bony frill, rather than possessing elaborate ornamentations such as hooks or spikes, is relatively unadorned, with a simple, scalloped margin.

Nasutoceratops translates as ‘big-nose horned face,’ and the specific name titusi honors Alan Titus, Monument Paleontologist at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, for his years of research collaboration.

“The jumbo-sized schnoz of Nasutoceratops likely had nothing to do with a heightened sense of smell – since olfactory receptors occur further back in the head, adjacent to the brain – and the function of this bizarre feature remains uncertain,” said Dr Scott Sampson, the Vice President of Research and Collections at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and lead author of a paper reporting the discovery in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Researchers have long speculated about the function of horns and frills on horned dinosaurs. Ideas have ranged from predator defense and controlling body temperature to recognizing members of the same species. Yet the dominant hypothesis today focuses on competing for mates – that is, intimidating members of the same sex and attracting members of the opposite sex. Peacock tails and deer antlers are modern examples.

“The amazing horns of Nasutoceratops were most likely used as visual signals of dominance and, when that wasn’t enough, as weapons for combatting rivals,” said co-author Dr Mark Loewen from the Natural History Museum of Utah and the University of Utah’s Department of Geology and Geophysics.

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Bibliographic information: Scott D. Sampson et al. 2013. A remarkable short-snouted horned dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (late Campanian) of southern Laramidia. Proc. R. Soc. B, vol. 280, no. 1766; doi: 10.1098/rspb.2013.1186