Meet Nasutoceratops – a large-nosed dinosaur discovered in Utah

A new species of dinosaur that roamed the Earth during the Late Cretaceous period around 76-million years ago has been revealed to the world in the form of Nasutoceratops titusi.

The 2.5-ton dinosaur is part of a family group of big-bodied, horned dinosaurs known as ceratopsids, which includes the more commonly known Triceratops, popular with young dinosaur enthusiasts around the world.

But unlike Triceratops, Nasutoceratops had an enormous nose, hence its Latin name, which means “big-nose horned face”.

Other distinguishing features are 1m-long horns that curve over the eyes (a bit like a modern-day buffalo bull), and a small bony frill at the base of its enormous skull.

The second part of the dinosaur’s name (titusi) honours palaeontologist Alan Titus for his extensive work in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument area of southern Utah, where the discovery was made.

This part of Utah was once part of an island continent known as Laramidia, that was about the size of Australia, stretching from Mexico in the south to Alaska in the north.

North America was once separated into two landmasses by a shallow sea known as the Western Interior Seaway. To the west was Laramidia, and to the east Appalachia.

The new discovery provides scientists with further evidence that there may have been two distinct northern and southern dinosaur communities living in Laramidia for over a million years, during the Late Cretaceous period.

It is thought Nasutoceratops roamed in large herds in a swampy environment and that its horns may have been used to attract members of the opposite sex, as well as for self-defence.

The jury is still out as to why it had such a well-developed nose, and whether this had to do with attracting mates.

Eric Lund, who was a master’s student at the University of Utah at the time, came across the skull in the study area in 2006 and immediately recognised that he might be onto something novel.

It took three years for a team of palaeontologists to unearth the fossilised skull, and to establish they had found a completely new species.

In a press statement, Lund said the discovery was “a wondrous example of just how much more we have to learn about the world of dinosaurs. Many more exciting fossils await discovery in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.”

* The discovery was announced on July 17 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B