Re: Huge Triceratops found in Alberta

[GSP1954@aol.com]

It is improbable that any Canadian Triceratops will be pertinent to the 
growth of Triceratops into Torosaurus. That's because so far all 10 Canadian 
Triceratops skulls are T. prorsus, and although we can't tell do the lack of 
images of the new skull, the latter is probably that species. That's because 
all the Canadian sediments are from pretty high up in the Maastrichtian, 
equivalent to the upper Hell Creek and Lance where T. prorsus also hails from. 
As I reminded folks at www.plosone.org/annotation/listThread.action?root=283
tricera, no one says. T. prosus grew up to be T. latus. It is T. horridus 
from low in the Hell Creek and Lance that is proposed to have grown up to be 
Torosaurus latus, which is known only from low down in them there 
formations. 

If the 600 mm for the height of the new specimen's vertebrae is right that 
is big. A posterior dorsal of the mounted USNM 4842 is 540 mm, and that is a 
big honkin specimen with a 1150 mm femur (it does not look as big as it 
should because the added skull is much too small, something that needs to be 
corrected when the dinohall is redone), even the Milwaukee mount is a tad 
shorter femur and dorsal wise. 

GSPaul </HTML>