Centrosaurus

Centrosaurus (/ˌsɛntroʊˈsɔːrəs/ SEN-troh-SOR-əs; lit. 'pointed lizard') is a genus of centrosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur from the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous of Canada. Its remains have been found in the Dinosaur Park Formation, dating from 76.5 to 75.5 million years ago. The type and only species seen as valid today is Centrosaurus apertus. The first Centrosaurus remains were discovered and named by paleontologist Lawrence Lambe in strata along the Red Deer River in Alberta. The name Centrosaurus means "pointed lizard" (from Greek kentron, κέντρον, "point" and sauros, σαῦρος, "lizard") and refers to, the series of small hornlets placed along the margin of their frills, not the nasal horns (which were unknown when the dinosaur was named). The genus is not to be confused with the stegosaur Kentrosaurus, the name of which is derived from the same Greek word. Later, vast bonebeds of Centrosaurus were found in Dinosaur Provincial Park, also in Alberta. Some of these beds extend for hundreds of meters and contain thousands of individuals of all ages and all levels of completion. Scientists have speculated that the high density and number of individuals would be explained if they had perished while trying to cross a flooded river. A discovery of thousands of Centrosaurus fossils near the town of Hilda, Alberta, is believed to be the largest bed of dinosaur bones ever discovered.