Genus
Valid Extinct

Torosaurus

Marsh 1891
Etymology Reptile taureau

Torosaurus is a genus of herbivorous chasmosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur that lived during the late Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous period, between 68 and 66 million years ago, though it is possible that the species range might extend to as far back as 69 million years ago. Fossils have been discovered across the Western Interior of North America, from as far north as Saskatchewan to as far south as Texas.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
12
Group
Dinosaures
Herbivore Ground dwelling Terrestrial
Torosaurus
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Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
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Ornithischia Unranked clade
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Neornithischia Unranked clade
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Pyrodontia Unranked clade
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Cerapoda Unranked clade
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Marginocephalia Unranked clade
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Ceratopsia Suborder
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Ceratopsidae Family
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Chasmosaurinae Subfamily
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Triceratopsini Unranked clade
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Torosaurus Genus
Measurements
Length
7,5 m ⓘ
Fossil sites 12 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇺🇸 United States
10
🇨🇦 Canada
2
Geological formations
Hell Creek
3
Javelina
2
Lance
2
Kirtland
1
Scollard
1
Laramie
1
Frenchman
1
North Horn
1
Temporal distribution
Maastrichtian (72.2–66 Ma)
11
Campanian (83.6–72.2 Ma)
1
Species (3)
Torosaurus gladius objective synonym of Torosaurus latus 72 Ma
Torosaurus latus 72 Ma
Torosaurus utahensis 72 Ma
Images 2
Bibliography
Original description
O. C. Marsh. 1891. Notice of new vertebrate fossils. The American Journal of Science, series 3 42:265-269 DOI ↗
Bibliography (9)
J. C. Mallon, R. B. Holmes, and E. L. Bamforth, D. Schumann. 2022. The record of Torosaurus (Ornithischia: Ceratopsidae) in Canada and its taxonomic implications. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 195(1):157-171 DOI ↗
W. W. Stein. 2021. The paleontology, geology and taphonomy of the Tooth Draw Deposit; Hell Creek Formation (Maastrictian), Butte County, South Dakota. The Journal of Paleontological Sciences JPS.C.21:0001:1-108
R. K. Hunt and T. M. Lehman. 2008. Attributes of the ceratopsian dinosaur Torosaurus, and new material from the Javelina Formation (Maastrichtian) of Texas. Journal of Paleontology 82(6):1127-1138 DOI ↗
K. Carpenter and D. B. Young. 2002. Late Cretaceous dinosaurs from the Denver Basin, Colorado. Rocky Mountain Geology 37(2):237-254 DOI ↗
A. A. Farke. 2002. A review of Torosaurus (Dinosauria: Ceratopsidae) specimens from Texas and New Mexico. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22(3 (suppl.)):52A
D. A. Pearson, T. Schaefer, and K. R. Johnson, D. J. Nichols, J. P. Hunter. 2002. Vertebrate biostratigraphy of the Hell Creek Formation in southwestern North Dakota and northwestern South Dakota. The Hell Creek Formation and the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary in the Northern Great Plains: An Integrated Continental Record of the End of the Cretaceous, Geological Society of America Special Paper 361:145-167 DOI ↗
E. H. Colbert and J. D. Bump. 1947. A skull of Torosaurus from South Dakota and a revision of the genus. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 99:93-106
C. W. Gilmore. 1946. Reptilian fauna of the North Horn Formation of central Utah. United States Department of the Interior Geological Survey Professional Paper 210-C:29-53 DOI ↗
O. C. Marsh. 1891. Notice of new vertebrate fossils. The American Journal of Science, series 3 42:265-269 DOI ↗