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EXHIBIT 195

Agujaceratops

Agujaceratops (genus)

Agujaceratops was a Texas horned dinosaur whose two named species require separate skull reconstructions. [2]

Evidence profile
PERIODLate Cretaceous[3]
DIETHerbivoreEvidence and uncertainty in the dossier
TOTAL LENGTHSee the dossierEstimate scope matters
FOSSILS FOUNDTexas, USA[3]
CompareRead the dossierView the sources

MEET THE ANIMAL

Meet Agujaceratops

Agujaceratops is a horned dinosaur whose name reflects a revision of earlier classifications. Material originally described as a species of Chasmosaurus was given its own genus. A changed scientific name reflects a new interpretation of the same fossils. The bones themselves remain the starting point for understanding the animal. [D1]

The genus now includes two distinguished species, Agujaceratops mariscalensis and Agujaceratops mavericus. Their skull and frill features should not be blended into one supposedly exact portrait. The first species has prominent spikes at the rear corners of its frill. Researchers have also considered how differences among specimens might reflect species, growth or sex; those alternatives are not interchangeable conclusions. [D2]

An original fossil sample from Texas includes roughly ten to fifteen disarticulated individuals, ranging from juveniles to adults. Disarticulated means the bones were no longer all joined in their original positions. That sample provides useful growth evidence, but different ages found together do not automatically identify parents and offspring. It also cannot, on its own, reconstruct the behavior of a stable living herd. [D3]

PREHISTORIC ANIMAL DOSSIER

A life in profile.

The animal, the evidence, and the questions still open.

New frill material revealed large corner spikes in A. mariscalensis. Species differences remain entangled with growth and individual variation. [D2]

Profile scope: Genus coverage separates A. mariscalensis and A. mavericus; cinematic anatomy concerns A. mariscalensis. [D2]

Time
Late Cretaceous
Fossil locations in this exhibit
Texas, USA
How to read the evidence

Source supported identifies a description documented by the cited source. Inferred marks a reconstruction or functional estimate. Debated marks competing interpretations. Not established means the sources reviewed for this dossier do not support a firm conclusion; it does not mean a behavior never occurred.

A size reference is an estimate, not a population range. Nesting evidence does not by itself establish courtship, mate choice, or lifelong pairing.

Length

Inferred

About 7 m; museum reference

UTEP’s 23-foot educational length has no species, specimen or method designation; it is not an independently established adult maximum. [D4]

Body mass

Inferred

About 2.62 t; OMNH 10081 model

Measured-limb-circumference estimate; dataset labels this individual mature and A. mariscalensis. Species referral predates the 2016 revision; comparison withheld. [D5]

Diet

Inferred

Plant eater

Herbivory inferred from ceratopsid relationships; a specific menu or preserved meal is not established here. [D7]

Time and habitat

Source supported

Late Campanian; Big Bend, Texas

Upper Aguja Formation records the reviewed type and associated bonebed material. [D3]

Locomotion

Inferred

Four-legged body plan

Ceratopsid posture inferred comparatively; genus-specific trackways, gait and speed are not established here. [D7]

Distinctive anatomy

Source supported

Broad frill; large posterolateral spikes

New A. mariscalensis parietal material bears large horn-like corner processes. The genus’s two skull forms are not interchangeable. [D2]

Reproduction & life together

Reproduction and life cycle

Not established

Not established here

The original sample includes juvenile, subadult and fully adult individuals. This growth-series evidence does not establish breeding age, eggs, nests or parental care. [D3]

Mating and courtship

Not established

Not established here

Ceratopsian sexual-selection hypotheses are comparative. Ornament shape does not establish this genus’s mate choice, courtship sequence or sex-specific roles. [D6]

Social behavior

Inferred

Bonebed association; living group uncertain

The original report describes 10–15 disarticulated individuals of multiple growth stages. Their accumulation alone does not establish a stable herd or family group. [D3]

Dossier research & sources

Sources and inspection notes for the claims in this profile.

  1. Re-evaluation of Pentaceratops and Chasmosaurus (Ornithischia: Ceratopsidae) in the Upper Cretaceous of the Western InteriorNew Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 35; Lucas, Sullivan and Hunt (2006) · Accessed 2026-10-02Original full four-page chapter inspected: establishes genus for former Chasmosaurus mariscalensis. Its diagnosis predates separation of TMM 43098-1 into A. mavericus; no blended modern species portrait is inferred. · Inspected: page
  2. New specimens of horned dinosaurs from the Aguja Formation of West Texas, and a revision of AgujaceratopsJournal of Systematic Palaeontology; Lehman, Wick and Barnes (online 2016; issue 2017) · Accessed 2026-10-02Original abstract inspected: A. mavericus, uncertain juvenile assignment, A. mariscalensis posterolateral frill spikes and alternative species/growth/sex interpretations. Full revised referral inventory and figures inaccessible. · Inspected: abstract
  3. Chasmosaurus mariscalensis, sp. nov., a new ceratopsian dinosaur from TexasJournal of Vertebrate Paleontology; Lehman (1989) · Accessed 2026-10-02Indexed original abstract inspected: upper Aguja late Campanian, 10–15 disarticulated juvenile/subadult/adult individuals. Historical sex assignment from horn orientation is not treated as demonstrated. · Inspected: abstract
  4. AgujaceratopsUniversity of Texas at El Paso; Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens · Accessed 2026-10-02Institutional English text inspected: up-to-23-foot educational body reference, no identified species/specimen/maturity/method. Spanish version mistranslates length as height and is not used. · Inspected: page
  5. Rates of Dinosaur Body Mass Evolution Indicate 170 Million Years of Sustained Ecological Innovation on the Avian Stem LineagePLOS Biology; Benson and colleagues (2014) · Accessed 2026-10-02Original Dataset S1 independently inspected: Agujaceratops mariscalensis OMNH 10081, mature label, measured femoral/humeral circumferences 325/220 mm, 2622.833 kg. Dataset predates the 2016 species revision. · Inspected: page
  6. Patterns of divergence in the morphology of ceratopsian dinosaurs: sympatry is not a driver of ornament evolutionProceedings of the Royal Society B; Knapp, Knell, Farke, Loewen and Hone (2018) · Accessed 2026-10-02Original full text inspected. Comparative ornament-divergence analysis; sexual-selection hypothesis is not a directly observed mating behavior or identified sex. · Inspected: page
  7. Osteological correlates for quadrupedality in ornithischian dinosaursActa Palaeontologica Polonica; Maidment and Barrett (2014) · Accessed 2026-10-02Original full paper inspected. Ceratopsidae treated as quadrupedal within herbivorous Ornithischia; application to skull-only taxa is explicitly comparative. · Inspected: page

THE STORY IN THE FOSSILS

Separating a genus from its two skull forms

The 2006 revision separated Texas Chasmosaurus mariscalensis into Agujaceratops. This renaming does not move the other Chasmosaurus species into the Texas genus. [1]

The later revision named A. mavericus and left its juvenile assignment uncertain. Proposed age or sex explanations are alternatives, not identified male and female portraits. [2]

A note on scale and time

The dossier identifies the scope of each reference estimate. A mount, an individual fossil and a species-wide adult range are different measurements. Comparison metrics remain unavailable where adult scope has not been established. Unknown does not mean zero.

Sources & editorial notes

Sources support the stated claims and scopes. Refer to the evidence notes for uncertainty.

  1. Re-evaluation of Pentaceratops and Chasmosaurus (Ornithischia: Ceratopsidae) in the Upper Cretaceous of the Western InteriorNew Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 35; Lucas, Sullivan and Hunt (2006) · Accessed 2026-10-02Original full four-page chapter inspected: establishes genus for former Chasmosaurus mariscalensis. Its diagnosis predates separation of TMM 43098-1 into A. mavericus; no blended modern species portrait is inferred. · Inspected: page
  2. New specimens of horned dinosaurs from the Aguja Formation of West Texas, and a revision of AgujaceratopsJournal of Systematic Palaeontology; Lehman, Wick and Barnes (online 2016; issue 2017) · Accessed 2026-10-02Original abstract inspected: A. mavericus, uncertain juvenile assignment, A. mariscalensis posterolateral frill spikes and alternative species/growth/sex interpretations. Full revised referral inventory and figures inaccessible. · Inspected: abstract
  3. Chasmosaurus mariscalensis, sp. nov., a new ceratopsian dinosaur from TexasJournal of Vertebrate Paleontology; Lehman (1989) · Accessed 2026-10-02Indexed original abstract inspected: upper Aguja late Campanian, 10–15 disarticulated juvenile/subadult/adult individuals. Historical sex assignment from horn orientation is not treated as demonstrated. · Inspected: abstract
  4. AgujaceratopsUniversity of Texas at El Paso; Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens · Accessed 2026-10-02Institutional English text inspected: up-to-23-foot educational body reference, no identified species/specimen/maturity/method. Spanish version mistranslates length as height and is not used. · Inspected: page
  5. Rates of Dinosaur Body Mass Evolution Indicate 170 Million Years of Sustained Ecological Innovation on the Avian Stem LineagePLOS Biology; Benson and colleagues (2014) · Accessed 2026-10-02Original Dataset S1 independently inspected: Agujaceratops mariscalensis OMNH 10081, mature label, measured femoral/humeral circumferences 325/220 mm, 2622.833 kg. Dataset predates the 2016 species revision. · Inspected: page
  6. Patterns of divergence in the morphology of ceratopsian dinosaurs: sympatry is not a driver of ornament evolutionProceedings of the Royal Society B; Knapp, Knell, Farke, Loewen and Hone (2018) · Accessed 2026-10-02Original full text inspected. Comparative ornament-divergence analysis; sexual-selection hypothesis is not a directly observed mating behavior or identified sex. · Inspected: page
  7. Osteological correlates for quadrupedality in ornithischian dinosaursActa Palaeontologica Polonica; Maidment and Barrett (2014) · Accessed 2026-10-02Original full paper inspected. Ceratopsidae treated as quadrupedal within herbivorous Ornithischia; application to skull-only taxa is explicitly comparative. · Inspected: page

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