While the narrow muzzle of ceratopsians means they were all most likely selective feeders, Styracosaurus has been interpreted as more of a generalist among them, feeding on a broader range of plants than other ceratopsians. As the ceratopsian head is held near to the ground, it is suggested that herbaceous vegetation, or low quality/high fibre food would have been the preferred diet of these animals. The frill may have served as the origin of some jaw muscles, allowing such a strong biteforce. The beak would have been appropriate for plucking, while the tooth batteries were restricted to vertical shearing, yet extreme bite forces may have been generated along these teeth.
Their mouths were equipped with a large beak and tooth batteries in the cheeks.
Like other ceratopsians, Styracosaurus had a unique dental structure. Styracosaurus albertensis skeletal reconstruction by Scott Hartman. Who would have thought that all this confusion could have resulted from some ~ 70 million year old skulls? Even so, the latest research has concluded that Rubeosaurus may be a newer synonym of Styracosaurus after all, and so these are actually the same animal. However, work in 2010 renamed this species as Rubeosaurus ovatus, meaning that it was even in an entirely different genus. Another species of Styracosaurus, called Styracosaurus ovatus, was defined by Charles Gilmore in 1930. This has made analyses of dinosaur forms even more difficult than previously imagined, as many distinctions based on the shape of these frills have been made when naming North American ceratopsians. An adult Styracosaurus had at least three pairs of parietal spikes protruding from its frill, but these frills are thought to have exhibited unique variability and asymmetry between individuals of the species. This is hypothesised as having been used for defence or display. All ceratopsians possess a distinctive large bony neck frill. Firstly, Styracosaurus only had one large horn above the nostrils, compared to the three that Triceratops’ skullwas equipped with. While it belongs to the same family as Triceratops, Styracosaurus would have looked very different. Styracosaurus albertensis is found in the upper 20 metres of the Dinosaur Park Formation, which suggests that they may have actually displaced Centrosaurus, another ceratopsian, from this area. A second species, Styracosaurus parksi, was described in 1937 by Barnum Brown and Erich Schlaikjer, but later research by Dodson and Currie (1990) synonymised these two Styracosaurus species. Styracosaurus albertensis is known from one bonebed in the park, which is otherwise dominated by hadrosaur (duck-billed dinosaur) remains. Sternberg found an almost whole skull in the Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada. It was first described in 1913 by Lawrence Lambe, after C. Styracosaurus albertensis is a ceratopsian dinosaur, much like the more famous Triceratops. Styracosaurus albertensis life reconstruction by Max Bellomio.
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