Stellasaurus

Say it like this: “STELL-uh-SOR-us”

Stellasaurus ancellae

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

Quiz me on Stellasaurus

When: Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Named in: 2020 · Wilson, J. P.; Ryan, M. J.; Evans, D. C.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 4.2 m · 14 ft
Weight: Not established
Found in: the United States · Two Medicine
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: horned dinosaur · Ceratopsian
Family branch: Centrosaurinae

The story in short

In 2020, J. P. Wilson and colleagues published the name Stellasaurus. The name means “star lizard.”

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

Published estimates put Stellasaurus at a length near 4.2 m.

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