Tuesday, 9 June 2015
New species of dinosaur nicknamed 'Hellboy' found in Canada
A newly discovered dinosaur species has been called "Hellboy" because of its resemblance to the demonic comic book character of the same name.
The fossil was dug out of limestone along a Canadian river bank where it had been for 68 million years.
It had an exotic set of horns on its face, including stubby ones above the eyes, and spines along the edge of the bony frill at the back its skull.
Paleontologists described it as one of the most unique horned dinosaurs ever found.
The dinosaur has been given the official name Regaliceratops peterhewsi, which means "Royal horned face" followed by the name of Peter Hews, the geologist who discovered it.
The beast was a relative of Triceratops and lived off plants in the Cretaceous Period.
It was similar in size to the largest modern day rhino - about 16ft long, 5ft tall, and weighing 1.5 tons.
Paleontologists said its skull had been remarkably well preserved, and the horns were probably used for mating displays rather than defense.
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