Vagaceratops

Say it like this: “VAH-guh-SEH-ruh-tops”

Vagaceratops irvinensis

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

Quiz me on Vagaceratops

When: Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Named in: 2010 · Sampson, S. D.; Loewen, M. A.; Farke, A. A.; Roberts, E. M.; Forster, C. A.; Smith, J. A.; Titus, A. L.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 4.5 m · 15 ft
Weight: 1.2 tonnes
Found in: Canada · Dinosaur Park
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: horned dinosaur · Ceratopsian
Family branch: Chasmosaurinae

The story in short

Vagaceratops was formally named in 2010 by S. D. Sampson and colleagues. The name means “wandering horned face.”

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

Published estimates put Vagaceratops at a length near 4.5 m and a body mass around 1.2 tonnes.

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