A new species of dinosaur has been discovered from bones stored at the Canadian Museum of Nature for decades by a British palaeontologist.
Dr Nick Longrish of the University of Bath had been studying the fossils classified as Anchiceratops and Chasmosaurus, which had been stored at the Canadian Museum of Nature for 75 years, when he noticed they more closely resembled a different species of dinosaur more commonly found in south-western America.
The first of fossils represents a new species of Pentaceratops, named Pentaceratops aquilonius. This was a plant-eating dinosaur about that size of a modern-day buffalo characterised by long brow horns and elongate frills that lived around 75 million years ago during the Cretaceous period.
The other discovery appears to represent a new species of Kosmoceratops, although Longrish said that more fossils are needed to confirm this.
Commenting on his discovery, Longrich remarked:
“We thought we had discovered most of the species, but it seems there are many undiscovered dinosaurs left.
“There are lots of species out there. We’ve really only just scratched the surface.”
Longrich’s study appears in the journal Cretaceous Research.
