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science
dinosaurs
7881640
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# Mojoceratops, the frilly dinosaur named over beers
## A newly discovered dinosaur species has been named "Mojoceratops" in
honour of its dramatic bone frill.
![Mojoceratops, a relative of the triceratops which lived 75 million years
ago. Mojoceratops, the frilly dinosaur named over beers][1]
Mojoceratops, a relative of the triceratops which lived 75 million years ago.
Photo: NICHOLAS LONGRICH
[![Tom Chivers][2]][3]
By [Tom Chivers][4] 2:32PM BST 09 Jul 2010
[Follow Tom Chivers on Twitter][5]
[Comments][6]
Mojoceratops perifania, a hippopotamus-sized herbivore related to the
triceratops which lived around 75 million years ago, has a large, spectacular
bone frill above its head. Its discoverer, Nicholas Longrich, was trying to
think of a name for it while drinking with colleagues, and the name
"Mojoceratops" popped up.
Dr Longrich, a [palaeontologist][7] at Yale University,[ told Science
Daily][8]: "It was just a joke, but then everyone stopped and looked at each
other and said, 'Wait -- that actually sounds cool.
"I tried to come up with serious names after that, but Mojoceratops just sort
of stuck."
After coming up with the name, he looked up the etymology of the word "mojo".
He found it made perfect sense for the new dinosaur, which like its relatives
is believed to have used its large frill in courtship displays. He said: "I
discovered that 'mojo' is an early 20th-century African-American term meaning
a magic charm or talisman, often used to attract members of the opposite sex.
"This [dinosaur][7] probably used its frill to attract mates, so the name made
sense."
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Mojoceratops is a member of the chasmosaurine ceratopsid family, which lived
in what is now North America. They are defined by their frills on their
skulls, although with its large heart-shaped display, "Mojoceratops is the
most ostentatious," says Dr Longrich.
The dinosaur was discovered when Longrich noticed that a fossil at the
American Museum of Natural History in New York, labelled as a Chasmosaurus,
didn't fit with other examples of that species. "The fossils didn't look like
anything we'd seen before. They just looked wrong," he said. After
examination, he determined that it was a new species, and now eight partial
skulls have been classified as Mojoceratops.
Longrich is aware that the name is unconventional, but he doesn't worry.
"You're supposed to use Latin and Greek names, but this just seemed more fun,"
Longrich said. "You can do good science and still have some fun, too. So why
not?"
Dr Longrich's findings have been published in the [Journal of
Paleontology][15].
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/dinosaurs/7881640/Mojoceratops-the-frilly-
dinosaur-named-over-beers.html
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## [Dinosaurs][7]
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### [The 'Mojoceratops' is named][31]
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