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EXHIBIT 75

Pentaceratops

Pentaceratops sternbergii

Pentaceratops was a horned plant eater from Late Cretaceous New Mexico. Its name counts the prominent cheek projections alongside the nasal and brow horns, while disputed giant material requires separate treatment.

Evidence profile

TWO WAYS TO PICTURE THE PAST

Compare the evidence with the familiar movie image. The illustrations are not to a shared scale.

01 / FOSSIL VIEW

The evidence in the bones

Archival side-view photograph of Pentaceratops sternbergii holotype skull AMNH 6325.

Pentaceratops sternbergii holotype skull, AMNH 6325, from the 1923 description. This is distinct from the disputed giant specimen assigned to Titanoceratops by some researchers. An archival skull photograph does not establish living color or soft tissues. [2]

Pentaceratops sternbergii holotype AMNH6325 · Henry Fairfield Osborn and Charles H. Sternberg; digital restoration by M0tty. Public domain. Commons-listed 1280 px preview of the 2016 noise-cleaned revision converted to WebP; smaller responsive copy resized. No further crop, color or anatomical changes.

The photograph or figure shows the credited fossil material; displayed mounts and labels can include interpretation.

02 / MOVIE-STYLE INTERPRETATION

A cinematic imagination

Illustrative reconstruction of Pentaceratops with a long frill, brow and nasal horns and projecting cheek horns.

Original cinematic interpretation of Pentaceratops. Anatomy, soft tissues and colors are reconstructed choices. 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[1]
DIETHerbivoreEvidence and uncertainty in the dossier
TOTAL LENGTHSee the dossierEstimate scope matters
FOSSILS FOUNDUSA, New Mexico[2]
CompareRead the dossierView the sources

MEET THE ANIMAL

Meet Pentaceratops

Pentaceratops sternbergii was a plant-eating horned dinosaur from Late Cretaceous New Mexico. A museum reference of about 6.8 metres gives an approximate picture of scale without identifying a complete measured adult. Its recognizable head is also a reminder that a genus profile must depend on securely identified fossils rather than every historical referral. [D1]

Its five-horned name counts one horn over the nose, two over the eyes, and two projections on the cheeks. The New Mexico museum's life-size entrance sculpture makes all five visible. That display helps explain the naming and head arrangement, while its living colors and pose remain artistic choices rather than preserved observations. [S1]

Ideas about horned dinosaur display and mate competition have been discussed across ceratopsians. Those wider-group hypotheses do not demonstrate a Pentaceratops mating ritual or a confirmed purpose for every projection. Its head anatomy can be described more securely than the social behavior imagined around it. A distinctive silhouette therefore provides a useful starting point without supplying a complete account of daily life. [D4]

Overview sources
  1. Entrance Dinosaurs: Spike the PentaceratopsNew Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science · Accessed 2026-10-04Inspected: excerpt

PREHISTORIC ANIMAL DOSSIER

A life in profile.

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

Pentaceratops carried an elaborate horned skull and long frill. Fossil identity matters when estimating its size: a famous giant skeleton historically referred to this dinosaur has been proposed as a different genus.

Profile scope: Species: Pentaceratops sternbergii, spelled sternbergi in some sources. Excludes giant OMNH 10165 size claims because that specimen was reassigned to Titanoceratops in a published taxonomic hypothesis.

Time
Late Cretaceous
Fossil locations in this exhibit
USA, New Mexico
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 6.8 m (museum reference)

NHM gives a rounded reference without identifying specimen, life stage or method. It is not a confirmed maximum; giant disputed referral material is excluded from this profile. [D1] [D3]

Mass

Not established

Not established here

No adequately scoped species mass was established in this review. The 6.5-tonne Titanoceratops estimate is not imported as Pentaceratops mass. [D3]

Diet and feeding

Inferred

Plant eater

NHM identifies herbivory; specific plants and seasonal feeding patterns are not established by the reviewed profile. [D1]

Habitat and setting

Source supported

Late Cretaceous New Mexico

The original description records the discovery near Tsaya in the Fruitland Beds. This is fossil provenance, not proof of preference for a particular habitat. [D2]

Movement

Inferred

Four-legged movement inferred

Four-legged movement follows ceratopsid anatomy, a broader-group inference. The reviewed study does not establish Pentaceratops speed or a species-specific gait. [D5]

Distinctive anatomy

Source supported

Nasal, brow and cheek horns

The original description counts one nasal horn, two brow horns and two lateral cheek projections. Those cheek structures explain the five-horned name. [D2]

Reproduction & life together

Reproduction and care

Not established

Not established here

The reviewed sources do not establish Pentaceratops nest construction, incubation or parental care.

Courtship and mating

Inferred

Display proposed for ceratopsians

AMNH discusses horns and frills as possible signals or mate-competition structures across ceratopsians. This broader-group hypothesis does not demonstrate a Pentaceratops courtship ritual or mating system. [D4]

Social behavior

Not established

Not established here

Broad statements about ceratopsian herds do not establish Pentaceratops group size, social organization or cooperative defense.

Dossier research & sources

Sources and inspection notes for the claims in this profile.

  1. Pentaceratops — Dino DirectoryNatural History Museum, London · Accessed 2026-10-02Museum genus reference length and herbivory; rounded 6.8 m estimate lacks specimen/maturity. Its giant-skull claim is not adopted here. · Inspected: page
  2. A new genus and species of Ceratopsia from New Mexico, Pentaceratops sternbergiiAmerican Museum Novitates 93; Henry Fairfield Osborn (1923), AMNH repository copy via CORE · Accessed 2026-10-02Indexed original-description excerpts inspected: New Mexico Fruitland locality and the nasal, brow and cheek horn arrangement; complete paper not inspected. · Inspected: excerpt
  3. Titanoceratops ouranos, a giant horned dinosaur from the late Campanian of New MexicoCretaceous Research; Nicholas Longrich (2011), University of Bath research portal · Accessed 2026-10-02Inspected abstract: reassignment of the formerly giant Pentaceratops skeleton and distinction from diagnostic Pentaceratops anatomy. · Inspected: abstract
  4. What's the Point?American Museum of Natural History · Accessed 2026-10-02Ceratopsian-wide display and mate-competition hypotheses, illustrated with Pentaceratops; does not directly establish this species' mating or social system. · Inspected: page
  5. Does morphological convergence imply functional similarity? A test using the evolution of quadrupedalism in ornithischian dinosaursProceedings of the Royal Society B; Maidment and Barrett (2012) · Accessed 2026-10-02Indexed abstract and introduction inspected; ceratopsid quadrupedality is broader-group evidence, with stance and gait debated. Not a Pentaceratops speed estimate. · Inspected: excerpt

THE STORY IN THE FOSSILS

Meet Pentaceratops.

Henry Fairfield Osborn described Pentaceratops sternbergii in 1923 from New Mexico discoveries. The skull's nasal and brow horns were joined by projecting cheek structures, giving the animal its five-horned name. [2]

One exceptionally large skeleton once called Pentaceratops became the basis of the proposed genus Titanoceratops in 2011. This exhibit keeps that taxonomic hypothesis visible and avoids presenting the disputed animal's giant measurements as a secure Pentaceratops species maximum. [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.

  1. Pentaceratops — Dino DirectoryNatural History Museum, London · Accessed 2026-10-02Museum genus reference length and herbivory; rounded 6.8 m estimate lacks specimen/maturity. Its giant-skull claim is not adopted here. · Inspected: page
  2. A new genus and species of Ceratopsia from New Mexico, Pentaceratops sternbergiiAmerican Museum Novitates 93; Henry Fairfield Osborn (1923), AMNH repository copy via CORE · Accessed 2026-10-02Indexed original-description excerpts inspected: New Mexico Fruitland locality and the nasal, brow and cheek horn arrangement; complete paper not inspected. · Inspected: excerpt
  3. Titanoceratops ouranos, a giant horned dinosaur from the late Campanian of New MexicoCretaceous Research; Nicholas Longrich (2011), University of Bath research portal · Accessed 2026-10-02Inspected abstract: reassignment of the formerly giant Pentaceratops skeleton and distinction from diagnostic Pentaceratops anatomy. · Inspected: abstract
  4. What's the Point?American Museum of Natural History · Accessed 2026-10-02Ceratopsian-wide display and mate-competition hypotheses, illustrated with Pentaceratops; does not directly establish this species' mating or social system. · Inspected: page
  5. Does morphological convergence imply functional similarity? A test using the evolution of quadrupedalism in ornithischian dinosaursProceedings of the Royal Society B; Maidment and Barrett (2012) · Accessed 2026-10-02Indexed abstract and introduction inspected; ceratopsid quadrupedality is broader-group evidence, with stance and gait debated. Not a Pentaceratops speed estimate. · Inspected: excerpt

FOLLOW YOUR CURIOSITY

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KEEP EXPLORING

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