Pentaceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period of what is now North America. Fossils of this animal were first discovered in 1921, but the genus was named in 1923 when its type species, Pentaceratops sternbergii, was described. Pentaceratops lived around 76–73 million years ago, its remains having been mostly found in the Kirtland Formation in the San Juan Basin in New Mexico. About a dozen skulls and skeletons have been uncovered, so anatomical understanding of Pentaceratops is fairly complete. One exceptionally large specimen later became its own genus, Titanoceratops, due to its more derived morphology, similarities to Triceratops, and lack of unique characteristics shared with Pentaceratops.
Pentaceratops
P. sternbergii holotype skull with reconstructed parts, AMNH
Specimen being airlifted with help from the New Mexico National Guard, 2015
Restoration of P. sternbergii
The Kirtland Formation is a sedimentary geological formation.
Kirtland Formation outcrops near Coal Creek
Alamosaurus
Bistahieversor
Saurornitholestes