SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Researchers in Salt Lake City say fossil-hunters unearthed the bones of a new type of big-nosed, horned-faced dinosaur in southern Utah.
The discovery of the creature named “Nasutoceratops titusi” (nah-soo-toh-SEHR’-ah-tops TY’-tuhs-ee) was described Wednesday in the British scientific journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B and by officials at the National History Museum of Utah at the University of Utah.
The dinosaur was a wide-bodied plant-eater that grew to 15 feet long and weighed 2 1/2 tons.
It’s unique for its oversized nose and exceptionally long, forward-pointing curved horns over the eyes.
It’s part of the same family as the well-known Triceratops (try-SEHR’-ah-tops).
The second part of the name recognizes paleontologist Alan Titus for his years of research work in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument discovery area.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
