Nedoceratops is a genus of ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in North America in the late Cretaceous. So far only a single skull has been attributed to the genus, but originally this skull was called Diceratops. When this name was found to already be in use however, the name Nedoceratops was given to the skull. One year later Octávio Mateus, then unaware that a new genus had been created, named the skull Diceratus, which is now listed as a synonym to Nedoceratops. In life Nedoceratops would have been a medium to large genus of ceratopsian dinosaur. The name Nedoceratops is a reference to the lack of a nasal horn.
Nedoceratops is currently seen as a dubious genus with some researchers considering the skull to be valid, while others consider it to belong to an already named genus. Indeed, Nedoceratops got caught up early in the great Triceratops/Torosaurus synonymy debate. This started in 2010 when John Scanella and John Horner proposed that Torosaurus was the true adult form of Triceratops, and that the holotype skull of Nedoceratops was the link that showed this growth. However, a later study by Andrew Farke showed that the holes in Nedoceratops were probably the result of disease and did not match the form of the holes seen in Torosaurus. At the time of writing Scanella and Horner concede that Nedoceratops is probably not ‘the’ transitional form that they need to prove their theory, but insist that the holotype skull is of a diseased Triceratops.
Nedoceratops is currently seen as a dubious genus with some researchers considering the skull to be valid, while others consider it to belong to an already named genus. Indeed, Nedoceratops got caught up early in the great Triceratops/Torosaurus synonymy debate. This started in 2010 when John Scanella and John Horner proposed that Torosaurus was the true adult form of Triceratops, and that the holotype skull of Nedoceratops was the link that showed this growth. However, a later study by Andrew Farke showed that the holes in Nedoceratops were probably the result of disease and did not match the form of the holes seen in Torosaurus. At the time of writing Scanella and Horner concede that Nedoceratops is probably not ‘the’ transitional form that they need to prove their theory, but insist that the holotype skull is of a diseased Triceratops.
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