Length
InferredAbout 5 m (museum reference)
The museum gives a rounded total-body reconstruction without a named size-model specimen or method. It is not an observed adult range. [D1]
EXHIBIT 115
Nasutoceratops
Nasutoceratops titusi
Nasutoceratops was a short-snouted horned dinosaur with a broad nose, forward-curving brow horns and a comparatively simple frill. [2]
TWO WAYS TO PICTURE THE PAST
Science & the silver screen
Compare the evidence with the familiar movie image. The illustrations are not to a shared scale.
01 / SCIENTIFIC RECONSTRUCTION
An animal, reconstructed
Image unavailableSide-view reconstruction of Nasutoceratops titusi with a broad snout, forward-curving brow horns and a rounded frill.The exhibit and its credited image source remain available.
Reconstruction of N. titusi with its broad nose and curved brow horns. Small fossil skin patches inform scale interpretation; full-body skin, color and soft tissues remain uncertain. [2]
Nasutoceratops TD · TotalDino. CC0 1.0. Commons-listed 1280 px preview converted to WebP; smaller responsive copy proportionally resized. Original image preserved without anatomy alterations.
Scientific reconstruction is an interpretation; source credit does not certify every anatomical detail.
02 / MOVIE-STYLE INTERPRETATION
A cinematic imagination
Image unavailableIllustrative reconstruction of Nasutoceratops; color and soft tissues remain interpretive.The exhibit and its credited image source remain available.
Original cinematic interpretation of Nasutoceratops titusi. Colors, soft tissues, scenery and missing anatomy are reconstructed artistic choices; this is not a directly observed individual or behavior. Lighting, coloration and scenery are artistic choices. This image does not document a fossil locality or behavior.
Original artwork · artistic interpretation.
Scientific view: source-informed reconstruction, credited paleoart or specimen-based imagery. Movie-style view: Original artistic interpretation. Reconstructions involve uncertainty.
PERIODLate Cretaceous[2]
DIETHerbivoreEvidence and uncertainty in the dossier
TOTAL LENGTHSee the dossierEstimate scope matters
FOSSILS FOUNDUtah, USA[2]
MEET THE ANIMAL
Meet Nasutoceratops
Nasutoceratops was a plant-eating horned dinosaur from Late Cretaceous Utah. Its Kaiparowits setting is reconstructed as a wet, forested river plain near the Western Interior Seaway. Those regional conditions help picture the surroundings without proving one exclusive habitat preference. Its four-legged body is reconstructed from horned-dinosaur anatomy and preserved material. [D1]
Its long, sweeping brow horns make the skull especially recognizable. Many close relatives had shorter brow horns and more prominent nasal horns or frill spikes. Nasutoceratops instead combined long brow horns with a modest nasal horn and comparatively simple frill ornament. Those differences show how varied horned dinosaur heads could be, even within the same branch of their family tree. [S1]
A curator's account describes its original fossils in Utah's museum collections and distinguishes one definite skull from more fragmentary material that might belong to the species. That wording keeps firm identification separate from possibility. The Kaiparowits Formation also preserves several other horned dinosaurs. Their shared regional record helps reconstruct diversity without proving that they all gathered in one herd. [S1]
Overview sources
- NHMU dinosaur stars in Jurassic World DominionUniversity of Utah; Randall Irmis, NHMU curator of paleontology · Accessed 2026-10-04Inspected: page
PREHISTORIC ANIMAL DOSSIER
A life in profile.
The animal, the evidence, and the questions still open.
Its unusually deep snout and long brow horns make the skull distinctive. Small skin patches add direct evidence about scales, without establishing the color or covering of the entire living animal. [D3]
Profile scope: N. titusi, using the Utah type and referred skulls; wider Nasutoceratopsini records are not a genus-level range. [D2] [D4]
- Time
- Late Cretaceous
- Fossil locations in this exhibit
- Utah, 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.
Mass
InferredAbout 2.5 tonnes (museum reference)
This educational estimate has no published method or explicit individual basis in the announcement. It is not a measured holotype mass or species-wide adult range. [D1]
Diet and feeding
Source supportedPlant-eater with a beak and tooth batteries
The described jaws and dental batteries support plant processing. Particular plant species and feeding height are not established. [D3]
Habitat and range
Source supportedLate Campanian Kaiparowits Formation, Utah
The museum reconstructs the regional setting as a wet, forested river plain near the Western Interior Seaway. Regional conditions do not establish an exclusive habitat preference. [D1]
Movement
InferredFour-legged walking inferred
The museum identifies a quadrupedal plant-eater; partial type postcrania support the ceratopsid reconstruction. No running-speed estimate is established. [D1]
Distinctive anatomy
Source supportedBroad snout; curved brow horns; simple frill
The original diagnosis records a deep nasal region, long forward-curving brow horns, low blade-like nasal horn and comparatively plain frill margin. [D2]
Reproduction & life together
Reproduction and care
Not establishedNot established here
The later anatomical description identifies the type as subadult, approaching adulthood. This does not establish breeding age, nests or parental care. [D3]
Courtship and mating
Not establishedNot established here
Signaling and horn-locking roles have been proposed by comparison with other ceratopsids; neither proposal demonstrates a mating ritual or sexually distinct individuals. [D3]
Social behavior
Not establishedNot established here
A tribal review discusses rarity and possible habitat/social differences. This does not establish Nasutoceratops herd structure or solitary living. [D4]
Dossier research & sources
Sources and inspection notes for the claims in this profile.
- Big-Nosed, Long-Horned Dinosaur Discovered in UtahNatural History Museum of Utah (2013) · Accessed 2026-10-02Institutional announcement inspected: rounded 5 m and 2.5 tonne educational references, quadrupedal herbivory, horned skull and regional Kaiparowits environment. Size methods and measured specimen basis are not stated. · Inspected: page
- A remarkable short-snouted horned dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (late Campanian) of southern LaramidiaProceedings of the Royal Society B; Sampson et al. (2013) · Accessed 2026-10-02Original seven-page full published PDF inspected. N. titusi diagnosis, type UMNH VP 16800 and referred skulls, late Campanian Utah and cranial traits. Its proposed adult type status is superseded by the later 2016 subadult assessment; it does not independently validate the museum body dimensions. · Inspected: page
- Nasutoceratops titusi (Ornithischia, Ceratopsidae), a basal centrosaurine ceratopsid from the Kaiparowits Formation, southern UtahJournal of Vertebrate Paleontology; Lund, Sampson and Loewen (2016) · Accessed 2026-10-02Full 26-page author-uploaded published text inspected. Type assessed as subadult approaching adulthood; forelimb-associated skin patches, scale morphology, teeth and skull anatomy. Horn-locking and signaling are hypotheses, not observed mating or combat. · Inspected: page
- A basal ceratopsid (Centrosaurinae: Nasutoceratopsini) from the Oldman Formation (Campanian) of Alberta, CanadaCanadian Journal of Earth Sciences; Ryan et al. (2017) · Accessed 2026-10-02Publisher abstract and indexed discussion excerpts inspected. The tribe’s geographic spread and rarity prompt habitat/social hypotheses; CMN 8804 is not identified as the genus Nasutoceratops, and rarity is not evidence of solitary N. titusi. · Inspected: excerpt
THE STORY IN THE FOSSILS
Meet Nasutoceratops
The skull carries a very large nasal region and unusually long, curved brow horns. The combination distinguishes Nasutoceratops from its relatives without revealing exactly how the horns were used in life. [2]
Skin associated with the type’s shoulder includes round scales and a patch of larger, hexagonal scales. These limited impressions constrain texture locally; they cannot supply a full-body pattern or living color. [3]
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.
- Big-Nosed, Long-Horned Dinosaur Discovered in UtahNatural History Museum of Utah (2013) · Accessed 2026-10-02Institutional announcement inspected: rounded 5 m and 2.5 tonne educational references, quadrupedal herbivory, horned skull and regional Kaiparowits environment. Size methods and measured specimen basis are not stated. · Inspected: page
- A remarkable short-snouted horned dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (late Campanian) of southern LaramidiaProceedings of the Royal Society B; Sampson et al. (2013) · Accessed 2026-10-02Original seven-page full published PDF inspected. N. titusi diagnosis, type UMNH VP 16800 and referred skulls, late Campanian Utah and cranial traits. Its proposed adult type status is superseded by the later 2016 subadult assessment; it does not independently validate the museum body dimensions. · Inspected: page
- Nasutoceratops titusi (Ornithischia, Ceratopsidae), a basal centrosaurine ceratopsid from the Kaiparowits Formation, southern UtahJournal of Vertebrate Paleontology; Lund, Sampson and Loewen (2016) · Accessed 2026-10-02Full 26-page author-uploaded published text inspected. Type assessed as subadult approaching adulthood; forelimb-associated skin patches, scale morphology, teeth and skull anatomy. Horn-locking and signaling are hypotheses, not observed mating or combat. · Inspected: page
- A basal ceratopsid (Centrosaurinae: Nasutoceratopsini) from the Oldman Formation (Campanian) of Alberta, CanadaCanadian Journal of Earth Sciences; Ryan et al. (2017) · Accessed 2026-10-02Publisher abstract and indexed discussion excerpts inspected. The tribe’s geographic spread and rarity prompt habitat/social hypotheses; CMN 8804 is not identified as the genus Nasutoceratops, and rarity is not evidence of solitary N. titusi. · Inspected: excerpt
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