Ceratopsians Dinosaurs “horned faces”

Ceratopsia or Ceratopia which in Greek translates to “horned faces” which are a group of dinosaurs that had four distinctive features, these four included; being herbivores, beaks, neck frills and horns. Not all Ceratopsians would have had the fourth feature (horns).

It wasn’t until 1890 that the word “Ceratopsia” was used for the first time to describe this family of dinosaurs, this was some 35 years after the first discovery. This species was first named by Othniel Charles Marsh to combine dinosaurs which had the same key characteristics as previously mentioned. Other features of a dinosaur that would categorise it as a Ceratopsian aside from the more recognisable features included, fused neck vertebrae and a forward-facing pelvis bone.

What were HEAD FrillS used for?

Though the heads of Ceratopsians varied from sub family or subspecies they each had horns and a frill. It is hypothesised that these large frills might have served more than one purpose. First hypothesis is that the head frills were to protect the neck area from large carnivores theropods. The second theory around the usage of the frills was for display purposes. 

The purpose even to this day is not entirely clear. Some scientists believe that these frills were used in defense against large theropods however, this theory in the case of Ceratopsidae or ceratopsids is that some of the frills were pretty fragile, and would not have given any protection against an attack.

Other theories around so much variation in the frills could have also been around mating, and due to resounding evidence around these animals living in herds could have been used to mark male and female dominance.

Now, that could mean from mating perspective to attract females or to ascertain dominance from a rival male (for example). It is also theorised that these frills in some species of Ceratopsians may have been brightly coloured. 

NOT ALL Ceratopsians HAD HORNS

Not all species or sub families of Ceratopsians had horns and if they did have horns, they didn’t necessarily have three horns. For example, Triceratops was part of a much larger group of dinosaurs called Ceratopsidae in which dinosaurs such as Centrosaurus had only one large horn around the nose area like a modern-day Rhino, whereas Styracosaurus may have had up to eight large horns on their head.

Some Ceratopsians didn’t have large horns or in some cases no horns at all. For example, Protoceratops had a beaked mouth and a neck frill, but no prominent horns such as those found on Ceratopsians such as Styracosaurus.

Styracosaurus

Styracosaurus was one of the most impressive Ceratopsians. Styracosaurus is believed to have  been approximately 5.5m (18 ft) in length and would weigh as much as 2.7 tonnes. By now you’ll be fully aware that the heads of this particular dinosaur species were very large, and the skull of Styracosaurus was no exception. Styracosaurus had an extremely large horn on its nose which has been recorded at lengths of around 57cm (22 inches) long.

Styracosaurus also had one of the most impressive (and dangerous) neck frills of any Ceratopsians.  Styracosaurus had a minimum of four spikes or horns around the frill, with some of the best discoveries having at least six spikes on the frill. Each spike being around 50 to 55 centimeters (20 to 22 inches) in length, would have made this particular dinosaur appear incredible menacing.