Nasutoceratops

Nasutoceratops was the second genus of centrosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur to be discovered in the south west of the USA,‭ ‬the first genus being Diabloceratops that was named three years earlier.‭ ‬Back in the Cretaceous the South-west of what is now the USA was the southern portion of Laramidia,‭ ‬an island landmass extending‭ ‬from‭ ‬Canada all the way to Mexico,‭ ‬and isolated from Appalachia‭ (‬modern day eastern USA‭) ‬by the western interior seaway.‭ ‬It is possible that the reason why‭ ‬centrosaurine‭ ‬ceratopsian dinosaurs were not as common in southern Laramidia than they were in the North may well be because of geological barriers that prevented ceratopsian dinosaurs from spreading south.‭ ‬If correct then this would have resulted in isolated populations that may have begun evolving features differently because of a more limited gene pool.
       Hailing from the Kaiparowits Formation,‭ ‬Nasutoceratops would have shared its habitat with chasmosaurine ceratopsian dinosaurs such as Kosmoceratops and Utahceratops,‭ ‬as well as hadrosaurs such as Gryposaurus and Parasaurolophus.‭ ‬Potential predators included theropods like the troodontid Talos but particularly tyrannosaurs such as Teratophoneus.
Category:Extinct Animals
Category:Dinosaurs
Category:Cretaceous Animals
Category:Mesozoic Animals