Centrosaurinae

Centrosaurines
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
82–69 Ma[1][2]
Centrosaurus "nasicornus" skeleton, Palaeontological Museum Munich
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Ornithischia
Clade: Neornithischia
Clade: Ceratopsia
Family: Ceratopsidae
Subfamily: Centrosaurinae
Lambe, 1915
Type species
Centrosaurus apertus
Lambe, 1904
Subgroups
Synonyms
  • Pachyrhinosaurinae Sternberg, 1950
  • Monocloniinae Nopcsa, 1923

Centrosaurinae (from the Greek, meaning "pointed lizards") is a subfamily of ceratopsid, a group of large quadrupedal ornithischian dinosaur. Centrosaurine fossil remains are known primarily from the northern region of Laramidia (modern day Alberta, Montana, and Alaska) but isolated taxa have been found in China and Utah as well.[3]

Defining features of centrosaurines include a large nasal horn, short supratemporal horns, and an ornamented frill projecting from the back of the skull.[4] With the exception of Centrosaurus apertus, all adult centrosaurines have spike-like ornaments midway up the skull.[5] Morphometric analysis shows that centrosaurines differ from other ceratopsian groups in skull, snout, and frill shapes.[6] There is evidence to suggest that male centrosaurines had an extended period of adolescence, and sexual ornamentation did not appear until adulthood.[4]

Centrosaurinae was named by paleontologist Lawrence Lambe in 1915, with Centrosaurus as the type genus. The centrosaurines are further divided into three tribes: the Nasutoceratopsini, the Centrosaurini, and the Pachyrhinosaurini by Ryan et al (2016).[7] Nasutoceratopsins are defined as centrosaurines closer to Nasutoceratops titusi than to Centrosaurus apertus and centrosaurins are defined as centrosaurines (more specifically eucentrosaurans) closer to Centrosaurus apertus than to Pachyrhinosaurus canadensis. Until 2016, the only division used was Pachyrhinosaurini, which is defined as centrosaurines closer to Pachyrhinosaurus canadensis than to Centrosaurus apertus.

  1. ^ Dalman, Sebastian G.; Lucas, Spencer G.; Jasinki, Steven G.; Lichtig, Asher J.; Dodson, Peter (2021). "The oldest centrosaurine: a new ceratopsid dinosaur (Dinosauria: Ceratopsidae) from the Allison Member of the Menefee Formation (Upper Cretaceous, early Campanian), northwestern New Mexico, USA". PalZ. 95 (2): 291–335. doi:10.1007/s12542-021-00555-w. ISSN 0031-0220. S2CID 234351502.
  2. ^ Fiorillo, Anthony R. and Tykoski, Ronald S. (2012). "A new Maastrichtian species of the centrosaurine ceratopsid Pachyrhinosaurus from the North Slope (Prince Creek Formation: Maastrichtian) of Alaska". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 57 (3): 561–573. doi:10.4202/app.2011.0033.
  3. ^ Sampson, Scott D.; Lund, Eric K.; Loewen, Mark A.; Farke, Andrew A.; Clayton, Katherine E. (2013-09-07). "A remarkable short-snouted horned dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (late Campanian) of southern Laramidia". Proc. R. Soc. B. 280 (1766): 20131186. doi:10.1098/rspb.2013.1186. ISSN 0962-8452. PMC 3730592. PMID 23864598.
  4. ^ a b Sampson, Scott D.; Ryan, Michael J.; Tanke, Darren H. (1997-11-01). "Craniofacial ontogeny in centrosaurine dinosaurs (Ornithischia: Ceratopsidae): taxonomic and behavioral implications". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 121 (3): 293–337. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1997.tb00340.x. ISSN 0024-4082.
  5. ^ Ryan, Michael J. (2007-03-01). "A new basal centrosaurine ceratopsid from the oldman formation, southeastern alberta". Journal of Paleontology. 81 (2): 376–396. doi:10.1666/0022-3360(2007)81[376:ANBCCF]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0022-3360. S2CID 130607301.
  6. ^ Maiorino, Leonardo; Farke, Andrew A; Kotsakis, Tassos; Piras, Paolo (2017). "Macroevolutionary patterns in cranial and lower jaw shape of ceratopsian dinosaurs (Dinosauria, Ornithischia): phylogeny, morphological integration, and evolutionary rates" (PDF). Evolutionary Ecology Research. 18: 123–167.
  7. ^ Ryan, Michael J.; Holmes, Robert; Mallon, Jordan; Loewen, Mark; Evans, David C. (2016-10-27). "A basal ceratopsid (Centrosaurinae: Nasutoceratopsini) from the Oldman Formation (Campanian) of Alberta, Canada". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 54 (1): 1–14. doi:10.1139/cjes-2016-0110. ISSN 0008-4077.