Jurassic king with a crown? Scientists discover fancy headgear on 78-million-year-old dinosaur
Fossil skull bones of Lokiceratops at the Museum of Evolution in Maribo, Denmark
Palaeontologists have identified a new dinosaur species named Lokiceratops. Measuring about 22 feet (6.7 meters) in length and weighing around 11,000 pounds (5 metric tonnes), Lokiceratops stand out due to their crown-like elaborate headgear.
The plant-eating dinosaur belonged to the centrosaurines group and dates back 78 million years ago.
The findings are based on specimensexcavated from the badlands of northern Montana and will be displayed at the Natural History Museum of Utah. Theywerepublished in PeerJ.
The species has been officially named Lokiceratops rangiformis, translating to "Loki’s horned face that looks like a caribou."
The name pays homage to the Norse god Loki, known for his horned helmet, and references the asymmetrical horn lengths on each side of its frill.
Also watch |WION Climate Tracker: Climate change played key role in dominance of dinosaurs
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
National Handloom Day 2026: From Alia Bhatt to Samantha Ruth Prabhu; Actresses who celebrated India's textile heritage as brides
)
The Royals enter the Doctor Who universe: King Charles and Queen Camilla beam into Commonwealth Games in TARDIS
)
Unitree Robotics targets $9 billion valuation in landmark IPO backed by DeepSeek and Tencent
)
India names 27 sites in Arunachal Pradesh
)
Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata OTT: When will Kangana Ranaut's film stream online?
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How many soldiers operate one S-400 battery?
)
Shakib Al Hasan ready to return to Bangladesh—under one condition
)
‘Fake news’: MEA rejects report claiming India sought defence pact with Israel after Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey deal
)
Rockstar to unveil GTA 6 extended look ahead of November launch
)
Russia forms Ukrainian Volunteer Spetsnaz Brigade to fight Ukraine
)
Drug-resistant fungus that hides in hair and enters bloodstream reported in 23 US states
)
Technology transfer deal boosts India's defence manufacturing ambitions
)
Border row erupts in Europe after Ceuta crossings, Spain imposes border controls on Italy
)
Morale plummets on USS Abraham Lincoln: Are US sailors reaching a breaking point? | GRAVITAS
)
'Security can't be bought with Pakistan, Turkey deal': Iran tells Saudi Arabia
)
Baba Vanga's 2026 prophecy: 2 predictions 'already came true', 3 terrifying ones remain. Details inside
)
Colombia’s new president Abelardo de la Espriella vows to ‘defeat narco-terrorists’, signals hardline shift
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
New Friday OTT releases (August 7, 2026): Operation Safed Sagar, Vadhandhi, Main Vaapis Aaunga- 6 movies and TV shows on Netflix, Prime Video and more
)
Squadron Leader Bhawana Kanth scripts history as Indian Air Force gets its first woman ‘Top Gun’ pilot
)
RSS says Gen Z protests reflect genuine distress
)
Trump says Iranian school bombing photos could be AI-generated - 'I don’t think...'
)
IAF officer held for sharing sensitive information in 'honey trap' case, booked under Official Secrets Act
)
Stray Kids under scrutiny? Fans react to Grammy submission silence after BTS boycott
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Why the Su-30MKI doesn't need external fuel tanks to fly vast distances
)
Jugal Hansraj reunites with Shekhar Kapur after 40 years for Masoom: The Next Generation
)
New speed limits, automatic challans: Big traffic change coming to Delhi-Meerut Expressway. All you need to know
)
India officially names 27 places in Arunachal to counter China's renaming claims
)
Trump calls White House ballroom ruling a 'national disgrace' as court says Congress approval needed
)
US sanctions Iran’s crypto network after Strait of Hormuz attacks, offers $15m bounty for intel on IRGC finance
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Why the Su-30MKI is one of the heaviest fighters ever built
)
Uttarakhand young innovator builds India's own flying vehicle, conducts first test flight: WATCH
)
Chilling video shows students take cover as teen opens fire at Thai school
)
Reese Witherspoon's father hospitalised after poolside incident in Nashville: Report
Lokiceratops is part of the ceratopsid family, which first evolved around 92 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period.
"A new horned dinosaur found in the Cretaceous badlands of northern Montana reveals unexpectedly high diversity, suggesting elevated speciation rates and regional endemism in members of the group," Dr Mark Loewen, co-lead of the study and professor at the University of Utah told IFLScience.
The fossils suggest that horned dinosaurs were evolving within a small geographic area along the US-Canada border.
Dinosaur's crown
Lokiceratops' headgear is one of the largest frill horns among ceratopsians.
"Having a giant head like Lokiceratops required massive neck muscles to balance it on the body and lots of calories to grow as the animal matured," explained Dr Loewen.
"At the same time, it must have been so impressive to potential mates that it really was worth having such a huge head!"
What does it mean?
The discovery of Lokiceratops challenges previous assumptions that no more than two species of horned dinosaurs could co-exist.
Unlike many of its relatives, Lokiceratops did not have a nose horn, it has emerged.