BILLINGS, Mont. — A novice fossil collector’s lucky find in a remote Montana badlands more than a decade ago has turned out to be a new kind of spectacularly-horned dinosaur, researchers announced Wednesday.
The bones unearthed near Winifred, Mont. represent a previously-unknown species of dinosaur that lived 76 million years ago.
It’s scientific name is Spiclypeus shipporum (spi-CLIP-ee-us ship-OR-um) but it’s been nicknamed “Judith,” after the Judith River rock formation where it was found in 2005 by retired nuclear physicist Bill Shipp.
Canadian Museum of Nature paleontologist Jordan Mallon says Judith is closely-related to the well-known Triceratops. Both had horned faces and elaborate head frills, although Judith’s horns stick out sideway instead of over the eyes.
Like Triceratops, Judith was a plant-eater, approximately 15-feet long and weighing up to four tons, Mallon said.