FOR AGES 3 YEARS TO 18 YEARS
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Rubeosaurus ovatus is a giant, herbivore centrosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur commonly called the Thornbush Lizard or Bramble because of the arrangement of its spikes. It is believed that the reptile was an inhabitant of the two medicine formations in Montana, North America. Although a herbivore, the Thornbush Lizard is aggressive and agile and will not hesitate to attack other dinosaurs if they feel their territories are at stake. The genus of the beast was formerly misidentified by paleontologist Gilmore, as a Styracosaurus but later investigation prompted researchers to give it a different distinct genus of its own. However, uncertainties about the dinosaur have not been done away with. There is some speculation that the beast is actually the adult form of Brachyceratops as per Michael J Ryan. It is unfortunate how despite the discovery of various specimens and the unearthing of many remains, the origin, genus, and classification of the animal continues to be heavily disputed even today.
For more relatable content, check out these arkansaurus and stenonychosaurus facts.
The best way to pronounce the name of this beast is to break it down into 'Roo-bee-oh-sore-us'.
Rubeosaurus ovatus is a Centrosaurine ceratopsid. Ceratopsians are four-footed, herbivorous, beaked dinosaurs with a bony frill, that lived during the Cretaceous Period in what is now North America, Europe, and Asia.
The ceratopsian dinosauria roamed the earth during the Campanian stage of the Cretaceous period. On the geologic timescale, the Campanian is the fifth of six eras in the Late or Upper Cretaceous Epoch. It occurred approximately 72-83 million years ago.
The exact data of the time, when juvenile, subadult, and mature Rubeosaurus became extinct, is unrecorded or unfounded. Only three specimens of the animal have been unearthed to date and even now the genus classification of the animal is disputed and debatable. Vertebrate paleontologist Charles W. Gilmore identified Rubeosaurus ovatus as a new species of Styracosaurus ovatus living in the Upper Two Medicine Formation of Montana based on the partial skull and partial parietal bone of a huge centrosaurine. Later, McDonald and Horner minutely studied the second specimen of the reptile which included complete bone structures like the left and right nasal and horncore, partial left orbital with horncore, and a nearly complete right parietal with two spikes. This investigation revealed that R. ovatus was not congeneric with the species of Styracosaurus ovatus, and thus the new genus Rubeosaurus was formed.
The fossil of the centrosaurine ceratopsid was discovered in what we now know as Montana, North America.
The reptile lived in a two medicine formation, which is a geological rock formation located in Montana. The animal used to inhabit the land in the Campanian stage of the upper cretaceous period. A major reason why the genus and classification of the R.ovatus are still confusing is that the remains of the Styracosaurus Ovatus were also found in the same habitat as stated by Andrew T. McDonald & John R. Horner, (2010) in their book 'New Material of 'Styracosaurus' ovatus from the Two Medicine Formation of Montana'. The exact environment they lived in is unknown.
Despite much research, not much is known about the company that the R.ovatus would keep. But since the beast was a herbivore, one can assume that it lived alongside other harmonious herbivores in the two medicine formations. Some dinosaurian reptiles they could have lived with are Hadrosaurs, Monoclonius, Coronosaurus, Ankylosaurus, and Brachyceratops. Brachyceratops is also speculated to be the adult form of R.ovatus (Ryan et al, 2007).
The exact data pertaining to the lifespan of the dinosaur is currently unknown. According to studies, the food habits of dinosaurs played a significant role in their longevity. Meat-eating dinosaurs had a shorter lifespan while the dinosaurs that were herbivores enjoyed a longer life.
The female of the species would lay eggs and incubate them till they hatched. However, there have been no fossil remains of any reproductive organs of this animal, to shed light on their reproductive process.
Rubeosaurus ovatus is a big dinosaur. It is not very accurately known what the animal looks like but a rough sketch of the animal can be drawn based on its remains. The specimen found of the beast shows that it has left and right nasal and horncore. The partial left orbital has a horncore while the right parietal had two prominent spikes. Like most dinosaurs that belong to the Ceratopsidae family, the R.ovatus too sports a bony frill. The back of the neck frill has four huge spikes, the central two of which are oriented to point towards one another and the outside two of which point away from the middle. It was the unique arrangement of the spikes that convinced Andrew McDonald, and John Horner that this dinosaur was different from the Styracosaurus. They explicitly pointed out differences between the two genera in their book New Material of "Styracosaurus" ovatus from the Two Medicine Formation of Montana. Despite the fact that its length is unknown, the skull remains show that the horn was very broad at the base. The beast is believed to be brown in color with red streaks on the skull.
Despite extensive research of the species by world-renowned vertebrate paleontologists like Gilmore, Andrew McDonald, and John R. Horner, it has not been possible to discover the number of bones a Thornbush Lizard had in its body. Based on the partial skull and partial parietal bone remains and specimen found in 1928, Gilmore came to the conclusion that the Thornbush Lizard was a species of Styracosaurus ovatus. It was the discovery of the second specimen that took the research in a whole new direction. The second specimen was slightly more complete and consisted of various bone structures and fragments like the left and right nasal and horncore, partial left orbital with horncore, left premaxilla, and a nearly complete right parietal with two spikes. The discovery of the unique arrangement of spikes is what actually prompted the scientists to change the genus of the animal.
Little content is available about the exact communication process of Rubeosaurus ovatus. Like most dinosaurs, this ceratopsian too probably communicated vocally and visually. The beast may have also used its frill and spikes to engage in dialogue and communicate with the various animals they shared their habitat with during the Campanian stage of the Upper Cretaceous period.
Rubeosaurus size is rather humongous. The beast reached up to 13-20 ft (4-6 m) in length. It is bigger in size when compared to the Stokesosaurus in length.
Based on the remains available, it has not been possible to deduce how fast the animal is. However, it is a common belief that ceratopsian dinosaurs were strong runners.
This particular ceratopsian shares a more or less similar weight when compared to other subspecies that belong to the Dinosauria clade Ceratopsidae. R. ovatus weighs 6,600-13,200 lb (2993.71-5987.42 kg) while Styracosaurus ovatus weighs 5952 lb (2699.78 kg).
No sex-specific name has been allocated to the Rubeosaurus ovatus (Dinosauria: Ceratopsidae).
Juvenile Rubeosaurus ovatus dinosaurs, like their reptile cousins the turtles and crocodiles, are called hatchlings or juveniles.
It fed on plants, roots, shoots, and stems like every other herbivorous dinosaur that lived in the two medicine formations.
The Thornbush Lizard is believed to be nimble, aggressive, as well as territorial. Male Rubeosaurus could probably charge in like a bull, using its crest, horn, powerful feet, and tail to fend off foes. Only in battles with ravenous beasts like Rubeosaurus vs Megaraptor would the former perhaps find themselves on the losing side.
Michael J. Ryan speculated the R. ovatus to be the adult form of Brachyceratops, based on the remains of the incomplete juvenile specimen. However, because it is difficult to refer to more remnants of them, it is impossible to prove a formal relationship between Brachyceratops and the Montana Dinosaur.
Many research books have been written by prominent paleontologists on this elusive species. Some of the most appreciated and well-researched books on the beast are 'New Material of 'Styracosaurus' ovatus from the Two Medicine Formation of Montana', by Andrew T. McDonald & John R. Horner, New Perspectives on Horned Dinosaurs: The Royal Tyrrell Museum Ceratopsian Symposium, by M. J. Ryan, B. J. Chinnery-Allgeier, D. A. Eberth, and A Subadult Specimen of Rubeosaurus ovatus by McDonald.
Monoclonius is a real species that might have lived in the same period as Styracosaurus.
In 2010, Andrew McDonald and Jack Horner proposed that the Montana dinosaur belonged to a distinct genus. They called the reptile R. ovatus based on the fragmentary frill and other skull fragments. It happened to be another one of those strange horned dinosaurs with a large nasal horn and third parietal horns that pointed inward, rather than outward, as in Styracosaurus. Styracosaurus shared its habitat the vast coastal plain with other dinosaurs such as hadrosaurs like Parasaurolophus, Corythosaurus, ceratopsians like Centrosaurus, and Chasmosaurus, as well as the tyrannosaurs Gorgosaurus and Albertosaurus. The large 18 ft (5.5 m) dinosaur roamed the Earth during the Late Cretaceous Period and became extinct approximately 70-83 million years ago. It was a plant-eating, herbivore creature that survived on palms, ferns, and cycads. The name Styracosaurus means Spiked Lizard and it gets its name from its physical appearance as it has spikes on its rear end.
The remains of the animal were first examined by Gilmore but based on the preliminary examination of a partial skull and partial parietal bones he had assigned the beast to be a Styracosaurus. It was actually McDonald and Horner who identified the dinosaur and assigned them to the correct genus in 2010.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Aquilops facts and Coronosaurus facts pages.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable family of four dinosaurs coloring pages.
*The second image is by Nobu Tamura.
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At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family.
Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
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