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Ceratopsian. Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.
OBJECT DOSSIER · SMITHSONIAN OPEN ACCESS

Ceratopsian — Ceratopsidae indet.

SAGE Museum Deep Time scientific dossier
Date / Period
Latest Cretaceous — Maastrichtian · Latest Cretaceous in the Hell Creek microvertebrate context.
Object Type
tooth
Medium
representative_scientific_visual
About This Object

Geologic period: Latest Cretaceous — Maastrichtian

Age: Latest Cretaceous in the Hell Creek microvertebrate context.

Feeding: Herbivorous.

Locomotion: Not recorded by this tooth.

Body plan: Only dental anatomy is represented.

Evidence: Tooth shape supports identification to Ceratopsidae, but not to a specific genus or species.

Why it matters: Tiny isolated fossils can identify major animal groups even when complete skeletons are absent.

Plain Language Identity: An isolated tooth from an unidentified ceratopsid horned dinosaur.

What You Are Looking At: One fossil tooth, not a complete dinosaur skeleton.

Ecosystem: Latest Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystem.

Preservation: Isolated fossil tooth.

Open Questions: Do not automatically call the tooth Triceratops.

Source Urls: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour/current-exhibits/deep-time-virtual-tour-fossil-list

Enrichment Method: SAGE curated research pass; title + scientific name + source scene matched; display reconstruction separated from evidence; provenance uncertainty retained

Scientific name: Ceratopsidae indet.

Evidence / representation: Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.

Why It Is In This SAGE Exhibit

Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.

T. rex & Triceratops: The Last American Dinosaur World.

Provenance
Smithsonian Deep Time source scene: T. rex and the Last American Dinosaurs: 1
Exhibition History
Included in the SAGE Museum Dinosaurs & Deep Time staging exhibit.
Subjects & Themes
Ceratopsidae indet. Latest Cretaceous — Maastrichtian tooth T. rex and the Last American Dinosaurs: 1 T. rex & Triceratops
ORIGINAL COLLECTION SOURCE

This object page stays inside SAGE Museum. The Smithsonian link below is provided only as the original scholarly collection record. It opens separately.