Meet "Hellboy" - Weirdest Ceratopsian Found Yet

[Gwangi]

People tend to become jaded about what a ceratopsian is...they are all very strange animals . Each and every one, without exception. Dinosaurs that have a beak to crop plants and fronds and yet have teeth to grind them, and still have a gizzard for crushing and further digestion. Dinosaurs with frills and horns in elborate patterns and designs. These were dinosaurs that began somewhere we can trace back to the mid jurassic and they continued evolving and changing right up the end of the dinosaur reign. They began as two legged small beaked herbivores and evolved into massive army tank sized quadrapeds . We find herds of them that died together...they are by far one of the most common dinosaurs found and were scattered from China to the US and perhaps as far south as brazil. They were all quite odd and unique and somehow more successful than perhaps any other form of dinosaur except for perhaps the hadrosaurs.

Beautifully said, though I would argue theropods were perhaps the most successful. They are after all, still around.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

your point is well stated, perhaps I should have said of the extinct species or something similar, Gwangi

[Brachiosaurus]

People tend to become jaded about what a ceratopsian is...they are all very strange animals . Each and every one, without exception. Dinosaurs that have a beak to crop plants and fronds and yet have teeth to grind them, and still have a gizzard for crushing and further digestion. Dinosaurs with frills and horns in elborate patterns and designs. These were dinosaurs that began somewhere we can trace back to the mid jurassic and they continued evolving and changing right up the end of the dinosaur reign. They began as two legged small beaked herbivores and evolved into massive army tank sized quadrapeds . We find herds of them that died together...they are by far one of the most common dinosaurs found and were scattered from China to the US and perhaps as far south as brazil. They were all quite odd and unique and somehow more successful than perhaps any other form of dinosaur except for perhaps the hadrosaurs.

Sauropods were more successful, they started in the Triassic and made it all the way to the very end of the Cretaceous.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

People tend to become jaded about what a ceratopsian is...they are all very strange animals . Each and every one, without exception. Dinosaurs that have a beak to crop plants and fronds and yet have teeth to grind them, and still have a gizzard for crushing and further digestion. Dinosaurs with frills and horns in elborate patterns and designs. These were dinosaurs that began somewhere we can trace back to the mid jurassic and they continued evolving and changing right up the end of the dinosaur reign. They began as two legged small beaked herbivores and evolved into massive army tank sized quadrapeds . We find herds of them that died together...they are by far one of the most common dinosaurs found and were scattered from China to the US and perhaps as far south as brazil. They were all quite odd and unique and somehow more successful than perhaps any other form of dinosaur except for perhaps the hadrosaurs.

Sauropods were more successful, they started in the Triassic and made it all the way to the very end of the Cretaceous.

I guess it is a matter of what factor you use to consider more or less successful....longevity, geographic distribution or even specciation rates. The dinosaur family tree itself was hugely successful , however so any particular branch of the tree you could make an argument for. Sauropods did have a long run, but I personally do not see them as being as constantly changing and different from each other over that amount of time, compared to ceratopsians.

[Tyto_Theropod]

People tend to become jaded about what a ceratopsian is...they are all very strange animals . Each and every one, without exception. Dinosaurs that have a beak to crop plants and fronds and yet have teeth to grind them, and still have a gizzard for crushing and further digestion. Dinosaurs with frills and horns in elborate patterns and designs. These were dinosaurs that began somewhere we can trace back to the mid jurassic and they continued evolving and changing right up the end of the dinosaur reign. They began as two legged small beaked herbivores and evolved into massive army tank sized quadrapeds . We find herds of them that died together...they are by far one of the most common dinosaurs found and were scattered from China to the US and perhaps as far south as brazil. They were all quite odd and unique and somehow more successful than perhaps any other form of dinosaur except for perhaps the hadrosaurs.

Sauropods were more successful, they started in the Triassic and made it all the way to the very end of the Cretaceous.

I guess it is a matter of what factor you use to consider more or less successful....longevity, geographic distribution or even specciation rates. The dinosaur family tree itself was hugely successful , however so any particular branch of the tree you could make an argument for. Sauropods did have a long run, but I personally do not see them as being as constantly changing and different from each other over that amount of time, compared to ceratopsians.

In light of that, you could argue that Sauropods were successful in a different way - they survived throughout the Mesozoic with essentially the same body plan. It shows it was a successful design!

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Or you could argue the reverse and state that since they failed to evolve and change they went extinct in many areas long before other forms did....it all depends what point you wish to argue and why...but it does nothing to alter the many wonderful and unique things about ceratopsians, which was the point I was trying to make.

[Daspletodave]

Best thing about this new dino is it's CANADIAN!!!!!   Yeah!!!!

[Tyto_Theropod]

Or you could argue the reverse and state that since they failed to evolve and change they went extinct in many areas long before other forms did....it all depends what point you wish to argue and why...but it does nothing to alter the many wonderful and unique things about ceratopsians, which was the point I was trying to make.

Indeed - I wasn't trying to belittle Ceratopsians in any way. They are/were also wonderful animals. However, it's not entiraly true that Suaropods died out before the other dinosaurs. Titanosaurs likely made it right to the end of the Cretaceous. Alamosaurus, for example, lived alongside Tyrannosaurus rex, bo could well have been around for the K-Pg event.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Or you could argue the reverse and state that since they failed to evolve and change they went extinct in many areas long before other forms did....it all depends what point you wish to argue and why...but it does nothing to alter the many wonderful and unique things about ceratopsians, which was the point I was trying to make.

Indeed - I wasn't trying to belittle Ceratopsians in any way. They are/were also wonderful animals. However, it's not entiraly true that Suaropods died out before the other dinosaurs. Titanosaurs likely made it right to the end of the Cretaceous. Alamosaurus, for example, lived alongside Tyrannosaurus rex, bo could well have been around for the K-Pg event.

My comment was that sauropods died out in many areas before the end of the Cretaceous....not that they went extinct before other dinosaurs.

[Tyto_Theropod]

Sorry - I can't have read that first time round. It's 11:41 pm here.

[Doug Watson]

An interesting side story to this discovery turned up in our local paper today. Have a look at the last line of the paper on this guy.

"C.M.B. would specifically like to highlight the ongoing and unwavering support of Lorna O'Brien. Lorna, will you marry me?"

This apparently was a first for Current Biology and the marriage proposal was okayed by the editors.
and it seems Lorna said yes.

and I thought All you need is love...in the time of chasmosaurs, apparently it works for Regaliceratops as well.

[DinoLord]

and I thought All you need is love...in the time of chasmosaurs, apparently it works for Regaliceratops as well.

Interestingly enough Regaliceratops is a chasmosaurine that happened to convergently evolve centrosaurine facial features.

[Doug Watson]

Interestingly enough Regaliceratops is a chasmosaurine that happened to convergently evolve centrosaurine facial features.

I was expecting this....come on no comment about a scientist proposing to a colleague in his paper!

[Stuckasaurus (Dino Dad Reviews)]

An interesting side story to this discovery turned up in our local paper today. Have a look at the last line of the paper on this guy.

"C.M.B. would specifically like to highlight the ongoing and unwavering support of Lorna O'Brien. Lorna, will you marry me?"

This apparently was a first for Current Biology and the marriage proposal was okayed by the editors.
and it seems Lorna said yes.

and I thought All you need is love...in the time of chasmosaurs, apparently it works for Regaliceratops as well.

That is absolutely adorable! Nice blogosphere reference, btw.

[Stuckasaurus (Dino Dad Reviews)]

Okay, so can we PLEASE talk about how Regaliceratops looks almost exactly like Charles Knight's... er, "imaginative" reconstruction of Agathaumas? I mean just look at that! Long nasal horn, short brow horns, "crown-of-horns" all around the frill... Seriously, was this guy like a psychic?!?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agathaumas

[Simon]

Hey, you're right!  I forgot all about that old painting! 

Thanks for finding that super sized photo of the Regaliceratops.

That will be the coolest looking ceratopsian to date once Doug Watson (hint hint hint Doug!!!) gets through with it!!!

BTW, look at that frill ... you think it had a Stegosaur long-lost great-great-great grandfather???   

[Simon]

Willis O'Brien animating his Agathaumas for the original "Lost World":

[tyrantqueen]

Those horned protrusions on the frill remind me of this

[Tyto_Theropod]

Eww, TQ! I HATE fake nails, and those are some of the worst I've seen! But it's so true! 

BTW, that proposal is so romantic! 

[suspsy]

The creator of Hellboy is quite pleased. Hope he goes through with his idea for an illustration.

http://comicbook.com/2015/06/05/hellboy-creator-mike-mignola-on-the-new-hellboy-dinosaur/