The Pentaceratops was a gentle giant that roamed North America 75 million years ago. While it wasn’t as big as the Triceratops, this five-horned tank-like dinosaur has a giant skull and an equally impressive neck frill.
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Some Quick Facts about the Pentaceratops
| Name | Pentaceratops (five-horned face) |
| Type of dinosaur | Ceratopsian |
| Territory | Forests and grasslands, North America |
| Size | 20-28 feet long, 10 feet tall |
| Color | Brownish |
| Interesting Characteristics | Five horns on its skull |
| Diet | Plants |
| Major Threats | Large theropods, natural disasters |
The Pentaceratops was a plant-eating Cretaceous dinosaur that roamed in North America in places like Colorado, New Mexico, and Alberta, Canada, almost 75 million years ago.
It had one of the largest skulls of any land animal and a giant neck frill that was even bigger than the mighty Triceratops.
Unlike the Triceratops, the Pentaceratops skull appeared to have five horns: three on its face and two on its cheek. Keep reading to learn more about this flashy five-horned dinosaur!
What Did a Pentaceratops Look Like?
The Pentaceratops measured around 20 feet long and weighed a whopping 5,800 pounds. To put that into perspective, the Pentaceratops weighed about as much as White Rhinoceros. It had a large, tanky frame with short legs, making it sit very low.
It has many of the same characteristics as other Ceratopsians, but one thing that made it stand out is its enormous skull.
The skull of the Pentaceratops was one of the giant skulls ever uncovered on planet Earth. It has a huge and ornate frill much larger than even the Triceratops. While the frill of this horned dinosaur was large, it was thinner and more fragile than the Triceratops.
How many horns did a Pentaceratops have?
Even though its name means “five horns,” it only had three.
The Pentaceratops had three “real” horns on its face and two boney points on the end of its cheeks that merely looked like horns.
What Were the Horns on a Pentaceratops Used For?
It is hard to understand the functions of its horns. Paleontologists have a few theories. Much like the rhino, paleontologists believe that the Pentaceratops used its three large horns on its face to protect itself from predators.
Some also think the extra cheek horns and thin frill were more for attracting mates and less for protection.
Was a Pentaceratops Bigger Than a Triceratops?
The Pentaceratops weren’t bigger than the Triceratops, but it was pretty close.
Overall, the build and frame of the Pentaceratops are slightly smaller than most Triceratops. The Triceratops earned the title of the largest Ceratopsian as far as height and weight are concerned.
However, there is one size contest where the Pentaceratops wins first prize, and that’s the size of its giant head!
Of all Ceratopsians in the late Cretaceous (for example the Torosaurus), the Pentaceratops had one of the largest skulls that measured almost 10 feet in length.
Compared to the Triceratops, it had more boney horn-like structures on its face and a larger neck frill. The Triceratops was bigger, but the Pentaceratops dinos were more flashy.
What did the Pentaceratops Eat?
The landscape of North America during the Campanian age was ripe with lush vegetation. It was the perfect climate for large and tank-like herbivores to find plenty to eat. These plant-eating dinosaurs had a sharp beak-like snout that they used to snap the branches of trees and low-hanging vegetation.
These short and stout dinos didn’t have long necks like the Brachiosaurus to eat the leaves of tall trees. Instead, they ate lower greenery like conifers and ferns.
Did the Pentaceratops have any Predators?
Ceratopsia were some of the most plentiful herbivores of the Cretaceous era because they had few predators.
Apex predators like the T-Rex were a threat, but the Pentaceratops’ sturdy neck frills and horns protected them. If a Pentaceratops was in the sight of a T-Rex, it could survive the encounter.
Where Is the Pentaceratops Fossil Located?
The very first Pentaceratops fossils were found in the San Juan Basin by paleontologist Charles Hazelius Sternberg.
Sternberg uncovered a complete skull and rump at the Kirtland Formation. It was a remarkable discovery because the Pentaceratops skull is the largest skull of all land vertebrates to walk the planet.
Similar fossils were found at the Kirtland Formation that resembled a very large Pentaceratops but later were classified as a new genus called the Titanoceratops.
The Kirtland Formation in New Mexico is a hot spot for Cretaceous research and paleontology. In addition to the Pentaceratops, other Cretaceous dinos discovered there include:
- Parasaurolophus
- Chasmosaurus
- Kosmoceratops
- Triceratops