You can call the Kosmosaurus the world’s horniest dinosaur for several reasons. The main reason, of course, is that the newly-discovered Kosmosaurus has a staggering 15 horns on its head, jutting out randomly. The other reason, slightly more subtle, is that the Kosmosaurus developed his massive array of horns as a peacock-style sexual display designed to lure in potential mates. So yeah, he’s a horny critter, in more ways than one.
Scott Sampson, the archaeologist who discovered the Kosmosaurus in the deserts of Utah, described the dinosaur thusly: “These animals are basically over-sized rhinos with a whole lot more horns on their heads. They had huge heads relative to their body size. As far as we know it’s the most ornate-headed dinosaur ever found, with so many well-developed horns on its head.” The horns, he adds, served a couple of purposes: “In this case, we think these horns were really about competing for mates and more akin to peacock feathers or deer antlers, where it’s males trying to attract females or intimidate other males. Sometimes it’s good to have a way of visually ranking yourself relative to other animals. You can avoid unnecessary conflicts and that is probably what they were doing with all these bony bells and whistles.”
Also discovered alongside Kosmosaurus is the Utahsaurus, which is basically a giant version of a Triceratops. Well, a more gigantic version. Utah, back in the age of dinosaurs, was part of the continent known as Laramidia, which was separated from the Eastern United States by a warm, shallow sea, was a marshy, Mediterranean-like climate. Perfect for herbivores (and perfect for predators).
Tags: Kosmosaurus, horny dinosaur, dinosaur with 15 horns, new dinosaur discovered, new many-horned dinosaur discovered, Scott Sampson, Utah, archaeology, unusual dinosaurs, new dinosaur discovered, evolution, many-horned dinosaur discovered
