Agathaumas

Taxobox|
name = "Agathaumas"|
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
ordo = Ornithischia
familia = Ceratopsidae
subfamilia = Ceratopsinae
genus = "Agathaumas"
genus_authority = Cope, 1872
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = "A. sylvestris"

"Agathaumas" (IPAEng|ægəˈθɔməs, "great wonder") is a name given to the remains of a large ceratopsid that lived in Wyoming during the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian stage, around 65-70 million years ago). The name comes from Greek, "αγαν" - 'much' and "θαυμα" - 'wonder'. It is important because it was the first ceratopsian whose remains were found and described by a paleontologist. Relatively little is known about the species because the only fossils found were of the back half of the dinosaur. It is considered a nomen dubium and debate exists to what "Agathaumas" is, most arguing that "Agathaumas" is simply a mislabeled "Triceratops" or "Torosaurus".

History

"Agathaumas" was found in 1872 in southwestern Wyoming by F. B. Meek, who notified Edward Drinker Cope of the find. Cope himself participated in the dig, eventually recovering most of the back half of the animal, excluding the legs. Since these were the first ceratopsian remains found, Cope was uncertain as to precisely what sort of dinosaur "Agathaumas" was (although he recognized it as being something new) until O. C. Marsh described "Triceratops" in 1889.

In a 1889 paper, Cope suggested that Marsh's Ceratopsidae be renamed Agathaumidae, because of the paucity of "Ceratops" remains.

pecies

Type:
*"Agathaumas (Triceratops) sylvestris" Cope, 1872; 16 vertebrae from the tail, sacrum and back, a partial pelvis and several ribsOther Species:
*"A. flabellatus" (Marsh, 1889/Scott, 1900); included with "Triceratops horridus".
*"A. milo" (Cope, 1874); included with "Thespesius occidentalis".
*"A. monoclonius" (Breihaupt, 1994); nomen dubium included with "Monoclonius sphenocerus".
*"A. mortuarius" (Cope, 1874/Hay, 1902); nomen dubium included with "Triceratops horridus".
*"A. prorsus" (Marsh, 1890/Lydekker, 1893); included with "Triceratops prorsus".
*"A. sphenocerus" (Cope, 1890); nomen dubium included with "Monoclonius sphenocerus".

Unfortunately, the bones of the rear half of the animal found are not particularly diagnostic in ceratopsians and "Agathaumas" remains a nomen dubium. No other remains have been found in the area, but based on its size and age of the rocks, it probably was a "Triceratops" or "Torosaurus".

Knight's Restoration

In 1897, artist Charles R. Knight painted "Agathaumas" for Cope, creating an imposing beast which blended the long facial horns of "Triceratops" with the spiked frill of the "Styracosaurus". The artwork was seen years later by stop-motion animator Willis O'Brien, who used the "Agathaumas" in the 1925 film The Lost World. The "Agathaumas" has appeared in various forms since then.

References

* Peter Dodson; The Horned Dinosaurs (1996)
* Don Glut; The Dinosaur Scrapbook

External links

* [http://www.dinoruss.org/de_4/index.htm The Dinosaur Encyclopedia]
* [http://www.geocities.com/laxaria/mesomis.html The Un-Authentic Agathaumas]
* [http://www.dinosauria.com/dml/names/dinoa.htm Agathaumas at Dinosauria.com]