Gremlin

Say it like this: “GREM-lin”

Gremlin slobodorum

Gremlin ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Canada.

Quiz me on Gremlin

When: Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Named in: 2023 · Ryan, M. J.; Micucci, L.; Rizo, H.; Sullivan, C.; Lee, Y. N.; Evans, D. C.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 2 m · 7 ft
Weight: Not established
Found in: Canada · Oldman
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: horned dinosaur · Ceratopsian
Family branch: Leptoceratopsidae

The story in short

The genus Gremlin dates to 2023, the year M. J. Ryan and colleagues described it. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

Fossils referred to Gremlin date to the Late Cretaceous (Campanian), roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago. Finds come from Canada, including the Oldman Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Gremlin at a length near 2 m.

On the family tree it sits in Leptoceratopsidae, among the horned dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Cerasinops

Cerasinops hodgskissi

Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago

Ferrisaurus

Ferrisaurus sustutensis

Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago

Gryphoceratops

Gryphoceratops morrisoni

Late Cretaceous (Santonian) · roughly 85.7 to 83.6 million years ago