Longhorn of dinosaurs
In 2013, Mark Loewen and his colleagues unearthed a new species of dinosaur, dubbed Nasutoceratops titusi.
Badlands
The ancient beast was unearthed in the badlands of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Utah.
Laramidia
The animal lived 76 million years ago on a continent called Laramidia. At the time, North America was split in two and the long, skinny continent of Laramidia became a hotspot for dinosaur diversity.
Leafy environment
Though the area is a barren desert now, during the late Cretaceous period, when Nasutoceratops lived, the area was a swampy, forested region similar to the Mississippi Delta.
Wide nose, long horns
Nasutoceratops, which translates to big-nosed horned face, sported a wide, flaring snout and absurdly long horns.
No frills
Yet the frill around its head was rather simple and unornamented. The beast likely used its horns much as elk and deer do today: to ward off predators, to fight sexual rivals and to attract mates.
Mega-herbivores
Nasutoceratops was roughly 16 feet long (5 meters), and is part of the ceratopsid group of dinosaurs that includes Triceratops. Large ceratopsids emerged from smaller, house-cat sized animals.
Rare discovery
The team (Eric Lund shown here) excavated the dinosaur several years ago and have been painstakingly reconstructing it for years.
Excavating the beast
The team unearthed most of one skull and a few pieces of the body, as well as fragments of another skull. Because they don't have the body, they can't say whether the horns on the dinosaur differ between males and females.
