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The Giant Titanoceratops
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18-01-2011 2:30pm#1Call me a skeptic, but a tenner says this will be reclassified as a species of Triceratops within the next year.Dinosaurs do not come with name tags, however, and as this study shows, specimens are subject to reassignment. Specimens thought to belong to one species have turned out to represent another, and dinosaurs thought to be unique have been found to be growth stages of an already known species. During the past year paleontologists have been actively debating whether or not the horned dinosaur Torosaurus is actually the adult stage of Triceratops, and e-mails sent through the Dinosaur Mailing List have already suggested that Pentaceratops and Titanoceratops may be growth stages of just one species as well. This is not something that will be resolved in a week, a month, or even a decade. Skeletal anatomy, the microstructure of dinosaur bone and the geological context of multiple specimens all come into play, and (as always) more fossils are needed for comparison. The animal Longrich has named Titanoceratops certainly did exist, but as with any other species, the animal’s name is a scientific hypothesis that will likely be discussed and debated in years to come.
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