Mercuriceratops

Say it like this: “mur-kyuh-ree-seh-ruh-tops”

Mercuriceratops gemini

Mercuriceratops ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in the United States.

Quiz me on Mercuriceratops

When: Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Named in: 2014 · Ryan, M. J.; Evans, D. C.; Currie, P. J.; Loewen, M. A.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 5.2 m · 17 ft
Weight: Not established
Found in: the United States · Judith River
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: horned dinosaur · Ceratopsian
Family branch: Chasmosaurinae

The story in short

The genus Mercuriceratops dates to 2014, the year M. J. Ryan and colleagues described it.

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

Published estimates put Mercuriceratops at a length near 5.2 m.

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

Close relatives

Agujaceratops

Agujaceratops mariscalensis

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

Anchiceratops

Anchiceratops ornatus

Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian) · roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago

Arrhinoceratops

Arrhinoceratops brachyops

Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian) · roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago