The Taphonomy of a Centrosaurus (Ornithischia: Certopsidae) Bone Bed from the Dinosaur Park Formation (Upper Campanian), Alberta, Canada, with Comments on Cranial Ontogeny

Other| October 01, 2001 The Taphonomy of a Centrosaurus (Ornithischia: Certopsidae) Bone Bed from the Dinosaur Park Formation (Upper Campanian), Alberta, Canada, with Comments on Cranial Ontogeny MICHAEL J. RYAN; MICHAEL J. RYAN 1Vertebrate Morphology and Palaeontology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar ANTHONY P. RUSSELL; ANTHONY P. RUSSELL 1Vertebrate Morphology and Palaeontology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar DAVID A. EBERTH; DAVID A. EBERTH 2Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Box 7500, Drumheller Alberta T0J 0Y0, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar PHILIP J. CURRIE PHILIP J. CURRIE 2Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Box 7500, Drumheller Alberta T0J 0Y0, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information MICHAEL J. RYAN 1Vertebrate Morphology and Palaeontology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada ANTHONY P. RUSSELL 1Vertebrate Morphology and Palaeontology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada DAVID A. EBERTH 2Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Box 7500, Drumheller Alberta T0J 0Y0, Canada PHILIP J. CURRIE 2Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Box 7500, Drumheller Alberta T0J 0Y0, Canada Publisher: SEPM Society for Sedimentary Geology Accepted: 11 May 2001 First Online: 03 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1938-5323 Print ISSN: 0883-1351 Society for Sedimentary Geology PALAIOS (2001) 16 (5): 482–506. https://doi.org/10.1669/0883-1351(2001)016<0482:TTOACO>2.0.CO;2 Article history Accepted: 11 May 2001 First Online: 03 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation MICHAEL J. RYAN, ANTHONY P. RUSSELL, DAVID A. EBERTH, PHILIP J. CURRIE; The Taphonomy of a Centrosaurus (Ornithischia: Certopsidae) Bone Bed from the Dinosaur Park Formation (Upper Campanian), Alberta, Canada, with Comments on Cranial Ontogeny. PALAIOS 2001;; 16 (5): 482–506. doi: https://doi.org/10.1669/0883-1351(2001)016<0482:TTOACO>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyPALAIOS Search Advanced Search Abstract Bone bed 43 is one of at least eight paucispecific Centrosaurus bone beds located in the Dinosaur Park Formation (Upper Campanian) in Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada. It long has been used as a case example for evidence of herding and social behavior in dinosaurs, but a detailed analysis of the site has not been presented until this study. The bone bed is dominated by the disarticulated, mostly fragmentary and slightly abraded remains of Centrosaurus apertus, with minor occurrences of other taxa, notably teeth from the large tyrannosaurid Albertosaurus libratus. Fossils occur in a stacked to amalgamated succession of lag deposits, deposited and reworked at the erosional base of a paleochannel. The most parsomonious scenerio suggests that Centrosaurus material represents part of a large aggregation of animals (possibly numbering in the thousands) that died by drowning on the alluvial plain. Disarticulation occurred at a point upriver from the bone-bed site. Scavenging by theropods, primarily Albertosaurus, at or near the original site of death is suggested by the high number of shed theropod teeth. A subsequent event prior to fossilisation moved the material to its present location removing many juvenile-sized and hydrodynamically light elements from the original death assemblage. Evidence for distinct size classes amongst the preserved elements is not supported by the data, but the size range of elements preserved are representative of living individuals that would have ranged from small juveniles to mature adults. The large data base of specimens from bone bed 43 allows for the illustration of the ontogenetic changes that occurred in the diagnostic cranial elements of Centrosaurus. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.