Triceratops

Triceratops

First, Littlefoot's Brontosaurus ancestry was banished from my childhood dreams by well-meaning scientists, who discovered that Brontosaurus excelsius never existed, and that the genus was just an incorrectly-identified Apatosaurus all along. Now, scientists are at it again: they're looking to get rid of Cera as well!

Researchers at the Museum of the Rockies (in Montana) now claim that, as Triceratops aged, their frills smoothed down to resemble the skull of a Torosaurus, and their skulls became thinner in the same areas at which Torosaurus fossils show two holes. These similarities, as well as other related research (such as the fact that no young Torosaurus fossils have ever been found), have led them to believe that Triceratops are actually merely younger Torosaurus, and not a completely separate genus. I don't know which name they're going to pick now that they've combined the two; I think Triceratops is the frontrunner for the genus name because of historical priority (meaning Cera's family tree actually would NOT be killed), but we will see if this becomes the case in the future.

For comparison purposes:

Torosaurus

(via Nobu Tamura through Wikipedia)















Triceratops

(via Nobu Tamura through Wikipedia)











In addition to these disappointing revelations (for me, not for the paleontology world), after some Googling, I found out that Apatosaurus, Brontosaurus, Torosaurus, and Triceratops were all discovered and named by the SAME PALEONTOLOGIST: Othniel Charles Marsh (Othniel?), one of the "pre-eminent paleontologists of the 19th century". Although differentiating dinosaur bones must have been infinitely harder in the 19th century than in present times (which is why I won't harp on these "mistakes" that he seems to have made), finding out something like this must be heartbreaking for all those die-hard Othniel fans out there.

(via Gizmodo)