Styracosaurus albertensis

Styracosaurus albertensis was a large ceratopsian dinosaur distinguished by a large nasal horn, a relatively short beak, and a wide neck frill edged with at least four elongated spikes, including prominent paired spikes projecting from the rear margin. The arrangement of its frill spikes makes it one of the most visually distinctive of all horned dinosaurs.

Fossils of Styracosaurus have been found primarily in Alberta, Canada, from deposits of the Dinosaur Park Formation dating to the Late Cretaceous (Campanian stage). The original specimen was described by Lawrence Lambe in 1913 based on material from what is now Dinosaur Provincial Park.

Both are members of the ceratopsid family, but Styracosaurus belongs to the centrosaurine subgroup, which typically had large nasal horns and relatively short brow horns, while Triceratops is a chasmosaurine with long brow horns and a shorter nasal horn. The two lineages represent divergent branches within the horned dinosaur family tree.

The elongated spikes on the neck frill likely served multiple functions, including visual display for species recognition and intimidation of rivals, and possibly defense against large predators such as tyrannosaurids that shared its habitat. Some researchers also note that frill morphology may have been important in sexual selection within ceratopsian populations.