Angulomastacator
"bent chewer"
Type species Angulomastacator daviesi
- Lived
- 84 to 72 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Group
- Ornithopods, Hadrosauridae
- Found in
- United States
- Named by
- Wagner and Lehman 2009
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
80 million years ago
Habitat
Rivers crossed a low coastal landscape with open woodlands in what is now Texas. The Aguja Formation also contains Agujaceratops, Kritosaurus and Panoplosaurus.
Field notes
About Angulomastacator
What it was like
Angulomastacator was a lambeosaurine duckbill, a plant eater that probably had a hollow crest. It is known from a single upper jaw bone, which is bent downward in an odd way.
Its world
It lived in the Late Cretaceous, in what is now Texas. It comes from the Aguja Formation, a coastal land shared with the horned Agujaceratops, the duckbill Kritosaurus and the armored Panoplosaurus.
How it was found
Wagner and Lehman named Angulomastacator in 2009. The type species is Angulomastacator daviesi. Its name also refers to the bend of a river near where it was found.
Field gallery
More views of Angulomastacator
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 3
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Angulomastacator.
The evidence
The science behind Angulomastacator
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- The only fossil is a partial left upper jaw bone, worn and missing the very tip of its front end.
- The front of the jaw bends sharply downward.
Borrowed from relatives
- The missing snout tip, body, legs, tail and feet are restored from Edmontosaurus, keeping its own bent jaw.
- The hands follow Corythosaurus, a crested relative with hoof-shaped claws on its second and third fingers.
Still unknown
- As a lambeosaurine it probably had a hollow crest, but the shape and size of that crest are unknown.
- Why its upper jaw bent downward.
- Its body size and color.
Discovery timeline
- 2001Its worldSANKEY
- 2009Named itWagner & Lehman
- 2012Close relativePrieto-Márquez, Chiappe & Joshi
- 2016Same rocksLehman, Wick & Barnes
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Angulomastacator
Its world
Studied dinosaur teeth from the Aguja Formation and reconstructed a warm, dry landscape with open woodlands.
LATE CAMPANIAN SOUTHERN DINOSAURS, AGUJA FORMATION, BIG BEND, TEXAS. Journal of Paleontology 75: 208-215
Read the paper : LATE CAMPANIAN SOUTHERN DINOSAURS, AGUJA FORMATION, BIG BEND, TEXAS (opens in a new tab)Named it
Named a duckbill from a partial upper jaw with an unusually sharp downward bend and placed it among the lambeosaurines.
An enigmatic new lambeosaurine hadrosaur (Reptilia: Dinosauria) from the Upper Shale member of the Campanian Aguja Formation of Trans-Pecos Texas. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29: 605-611
Read the paper : An enigmatic new lambeosaurine hadrosaur (Reptilia: Dinosauria) from the Upper Shale member of the Campanian Aguja Formation of Trans-Pecos Texas (opens in a new tab)Close relative
Restudied the lambeosaurine Magnapaulia from Mexico and compared the downturned front of its upper jaw with that of Angulomastacator.
The Lambeosaurine Dinosaur Magnapaulia laticaudus from the Late Cretaceous of Baja California, Northwestern Mexico. PLoS ONE 7: e38207
Read the paper : The Lambeosaurine Dinosaur Magnapaulia laticaudus from the Late Cretaceous of Baja California, Northwestern Mexico (opens in a new tab)Same rocks
Described new Agujaceratops fossils from the same formation, including a new species and a more elaborate frill than previously known.
New specimens of horned dinosaurs from the Aguja Formation of West Texas, and a revision ofAgujaceratops. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 15: 641-674
Read the paper : New specimens of horned dinosaurs from the Aguja Formation of West Texas, and a revision ofAgujaceratops (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Hadrosauridae
Sources: Wikidata