Styracosaurus

Styracosaurus

sty-RAK-uh-SOR-us 🔊 Say it name means “Spiked lizard”

Six spikes, one massive horn, and absolutely zero interest in being messed with.

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Portrait of a Frilled Family

Styracosaurus comes from a family of dinosaurs with frills: the ceratopsians, or horned dinosaurs. As you can see, horns and spikes were not unique to Styracosaurus, but were a trait of the ceratopsians.

PentaceratopsLike all ceratopsians, this dinosaur had a beak like a bird, good for nipping at vegetation.

CentrosaurusTwo forward-curving horns protected the "windows" in Centrosaurus's huge skull.

TorosaurusThis ceratopsian had the largest frill of all. It measured up to eight feet, about the length of a small car!

Modern Frills, Spikes, and Horns

The characteristics of neck frills, spikes, and horns did not die out with the dinosaurs. Many modern creatures, such as the ones shown here, have kept these successful defense mechanisms.

On guardThis Australian frilled lizard normally keeps its neck frill flat. When startled by a predator, it erects this ruff-like collar which measures more than four times the width of its body.

Rhino chargeThis rhinoceros has horns similar to those of the ceratopsian dinosaurs. An herbivore, the rhino uses its horns for defense against predatory meat-eaters.

TuataraThis spiky lizard is considered to be a living fossil.

Don't Mess With Us!

Since ceratopsians such as Styracosaurus were plant-eaters, their spikes and horns may have been used for defense against predatory dinosaurs. A herd of ceratopsians may have formed a circle when attacked, presenting a meat-eater with a bristling facade of horns. They may also have charged their enemies or wrestled with rival members of their own group, threatening opponents with lowered horns, much as horned animals do today.

The Horned Dinosaurs

Ceratopsians were one of the last great groups of dinosaurs. One of the earliest and smallest members was Protoceratops, found in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia.

Amazing findIn 1922, a Protoceratops nest was discovered. The fossilized remains indicate that baby Protoceratops were less than eight inches in length, although their bodies grew to be more than six feet long in adulthood.

Fierce facesLater additions to the group, like Chasmosaurus, were much larger. Although ceratopsians looked very fierce, they were gentle plant-eaters. Their horns and spikes were mostly for show or for defense, and their elaborate frills probably developed to anchor the powerful jaw muscles needed to tackle the tough plants that made up their diet.

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Source: Microsoft Dinosaurs (1993) CD-ROM. Text liberated from original screen art; images & audio restored from disc. Original media is Microsoft/supplier copyright — non-commercial educational preservation. Credits & Acknowledgements →