Einiosaurus

Name: Einiosaurus

Pronounced: ie-nee-oh-sore-us

Meaning: ‘Bison lizard’

Period: Late Cretaceous (74 million years ago)

Group: Ceratopsians (horn faces)

Size: It was 6m long. In 2010, Gregory S. Paul estimated the Einiosaurus was 4.5m tall and weighed approximately 1300kg.

Diet: Herbivore

Characteristics: Einiosaurus walked on four legs and had an enormous downward-curving horn protruding from its narrow, pointy nose. The horns above the eyes were shorter and more triangular than other ceratopsians and its frill was relatively smaller too.

Named by: Scott D. Sampson in 1995

Discovery: Einiosaurus fossils have been found exclusively in the upper part of the Two Medicine Formation of Montana and are thought to be part of a herd that died in a catastrophic event like a drought or flood. They were discovered by Jack Horner in 1985 and excavated from 1985-1989 by members of the Museum of the Rockies. At least fifteen Einiosaurus are represented by three adult skulls and hundreds of other bones. These remains are currently at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana.