Genus
Valid Extinct

Pentaceratops

Osborn 1923
Etymology Tête à cinq cornes

Pentaceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period of what is now North America. Fossils of this animal were first discovered in 1921, but the genus was named in 1923 when its type species, Pentaceratops sternbergii, was described. Pentaceratops lived around 76–73 million years ago, its remains having been mostly found in the Kirtland Formation in the San Juan Basin in New Mexico. Another species, P. aquilonius, was named by Nick W. Longrich in 2014, but it is debated if it belongs to that genus or a separate taxon. About a dozen skulls and skeletons have been uncovered, so anatomical understanding of Pentaceratops is fairly complete. One exceptionally large specimen later became its own genus, Titanoceratops, due to its more derived morphology, similarities to Triceratops, and lack of unique characteristics shared with Pentaceratops.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
14
Group
Dinosaures
Herbivore Ground dwelling Terrestrial
Pentaceratops
click to enlarge
Type skull of Pentaceratops sternbergii, American Museum of Natural History # AMNH6325 © Osborn, Henry Fairfield, 1857-1935. Sternberg, Charles H. (Charles Hazelius), b. 1850. · Public domain · Wikimedia
Pentaceratops
Pentaceratops
PBDB Wikipedia
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
Ornithischia Unranked clade
Neornithischia Unranked clade
Pyrodontia Unranked clade
Cerapoda Unranked clade
Marginocephalia Unranked clade
Ceratopsia Suborder
Ceratopsidae Family
Chasmosaurinae Subfamily
Pentaceratops Genus
Measurements
Length
5,8 m
Pentaceratops sternbergii
6,8 m
Mass
2 300 kg
Pentaceratops sternbergii
Fossil sites 14 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇺🇸 United States
14
Geological formations
Williams Fork
1
Aguja
1
Temporal distribution
Campanian (83.6–72.2 Ma)
14
Species (3)
Pentaceratops fenestratus subjective synonym of Pentaceratops sternbergii 84 Ma
Pentaceratops sternbergii 84 Ma
Titanoceratops ouranos subjective synonym of Pentaceratops sternbergii 84 Ma
News 1
Pentaceratops: Beast of the Week
Pentaceratops: Beast of the Week
Mexico United States Cretaceous Late Cretaceous Ceratopsia +2
This week we will be checking out yet another awesome ceratopsian dinosaur.  Enter Pentaceratops sternbergii! Pentaceratops was a plant-eating dinosaur that measured about twenty feet long from beak to tail. As a ceratopsian (horns, beaks, and frills) it was member of the chasmosaurine group, and was closely related to Chasmosaurus and Coahuilaceratops to name a few.  It lived in what is now New Mexico, USA, during the late Cretaceous Period, between 76 and 73 million years ago.  The genus name,
14/09/2025 prehistoricbeastoftheweek
Images 2
Bibliography
Original description
H. F. Osborn. 1923. A new genus and species of Ceratopsia from New Mexico, Pentaceratops sternbergii. American Museum Novitates 93:1-3
Bibliography (8)
D. W. Fowler and E. A. Freedman Fowler. 2020. Transitional evolutionary forms in chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaurs: evidence from the Campanian of New Mexico. PeerJ 8:e9251:1-49 DOI ↗
M. T. Carrano. 2015. Fossil Vertebrate Collections, American Museum of Natural History
N. R. Longrich. 2011. Titanoceratops ouranos, a giant horned dinosaur from the late Campanian of New Mexico. Cretaceous Research 32:264-276 DOI ↗
S. G. Lucas, R. M. Sullivan, and A. P. Hunt. 2006. Re-evaluation of Pentaceratops and Chasmosaurus (Ornithischia: Ceratopsidae) in the Upper Cretaceous of the Western Interior. Late Cretaceous Vertebrates from the Western Interior. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 35:367-370
C. V. Barns. 2000. Paleontological excavations in designated wilderness: theory and practice. USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS P-15 3:155-159
T. M. Lehman. 1993. New data on the ceratopsian dinosaur Pentaceratops sternbergii Osborn from New Mexico. Journal of Paleontology 67(2):279-288 DOI ↗
C. Wiman. 1930. Über Ceratopsia aus der Oberen Kreide in New Mexico [On Ceratopsia from the Upper Cretaceous in New Mexico]. Nova Acta Regiae Societatis Scientiarum Upsaliensis, Series 4 7(2):1-19
H. F. Osborn. 1923. A new genus and species of Ceratopsia from New Mexico, Pentaceratops sternbergii. American Museum Novitates 93:1-3