Spinops

Say it like this: “SPIEN-ops”

Spinops sternbergorum

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

Quiz me on Spinops

When: Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Named in: 2011 · Farke, A. A.; Ryan, M. J.; Barrett, P. M.; Tanke, D. H.; Braman, D. R.; Loewen, M. A.; Graham, M. R.
Hip height: 1.9 m · 6 ft
Length: 4.5 m · 15 ft
Weight: 1.3 tonnes
Found in: Canada
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: horned dinosaur · Ceratopsian
Family branch: Centrosaurinae

The story in short

The genus Spinops dates to 2011, the year A. A. Farke and colleagues described it. The name means “spine face.”

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

Published estimates put Spinops at a length near 4.5 m, hips about 1.9 m high, and a body mass around 1.3 tonnes.

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

Close relatives

Achelousaurus

Achelousaurus horneri

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

Albertaceratops

Albertaceratops nesmoi

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

Avaceratops

Avaceratops lammersi

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