Dinosaur genus

Centrosaurus

Lambe 1905

Centrosaurus is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 83.6–66 million years old, in Canada and the United States.

Also calledja セントロサウルス

medium

medium: Only Wikidata gives this; nothing contradicts it.

Confidence labels

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How sure are we?2 high12 medium2 lowHow we rate confidence

Confidence labels are switched off. Facts with low confidence, or where sources disagree, still carry a small dot: tap it for the reason.

At a glance

Data as of 10 October 2026

83.6–66 Ma

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114366

The last non-bird dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago. That's as far from us as the end of this bar.

Named by: Lambe 1905
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Described in: L. M. Lambe (1905). On the squamoso-parietal crest of the horned dinosaurs Centrosaurus apertus and Monoclonius canadensis from the Cretaceous of Alberta. Proceedings and Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, series 2 10(4): 1–9.
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Lambe 1905).
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. The publication the Paleobiology Database gives as the authority for this genus name, usually the one that first named and described it.
Lived: Campanian to Maastrichtian, 83.6–66 million years ago
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives a range this precise; NHM's records give only a broader interval, which contains it.
Omnisaura calculation83.6–66 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
medium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 57 confirmed PBDB records.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Fossils found in: Canada
high
high: NHM and PBDB both record it.
United States
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).
mixed
mixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
Rock formations: Dinosaur Park
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (47 records).
Judith River Formation
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Oldman
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (4 records).
Belly River Series
disputed
low: Only NHM gives this name and it matches no PBDB formation; awaiting an editor.
mixed
mixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.
Family: Ceratopsidae
high
high: PBDB and NHM agree.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Parent group: Centrosaurini
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Order: Ornithischia
medium
medium: Only NHM gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Gap filled from NHM.
Species named in its records: Centrosaurus apertus, Centrosaurus longirostris
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).
Diet: herbivore (inferred for its group)
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this, and it infers it for the whole of Ceratopsia, the group this genus belongs to, not from this genus's own fossils.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
Way of life: ground dwelling (inferred for its group)
low
low: PBDB infers this way of life for the whole of Ceratopsia; behaviour is rarely known for one genus.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
Known from: Bones
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).

Sources: Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0), Natural History Museum Data Portal (CC0 1.0), Wikidata (CC0 1.0)Confidence levels and gaps are Omnisaura's own assessment.

Gaps are answers

What isn't known yet

Type species: no source we use gives it yet.
What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
Resting on one source: 6 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): authority (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); order (NHM); age (headline) (PBDB); common names (Wikidata); diet (PBDB).

Size and appearance aren't covered yet, and diet and way of life only as PBDB infers them for the wider group. Omnisaura leaves the rest out rather than guess.

Where sources disagree

1 open

Formations

records nothing herePBDB
Belly River SeriesNHM

One source names a formation the other does not. An editor hasn't ruled yet, so this is rated low until they do.

Did it meet…?

Did Centrosaurus meet ?

Yes. Both are found, identified to species, in the same rocks of the same age: Dinosaur Park.

Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.

Connections

Genera linked to Centrosaurus by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.

Same rocks, same time 61

Genera found in the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.

Saurornitholestes Troodon Richardoestesia Paronychodon Dromaeosaurus Corythosaurus Stegoceras Chasmosaurus Lambeosaurus Gorgosaurus Euoplocephalus Stenonychosaurus Daspletosaurus Styracosaurus Chirostenotes Gryposaurusand 45 more

Same family: Ceratopsidae 25

Other genera in Ceratopsidae with a full profile.

Achelousaurus Agujaceratops Albertaceratops Anchiceratops Arrhinoceratops Avaceratops Bisticeratops Bravoceratops Ceratopsipes Chasmosaurus Coahuilaceratops Coronosaurus Crittendenceratops Diabloceratops Einiosaurus Kosmoceratopsand 9 more

Named by Lambe 8

Genera whose naming authority includes the same surname. The authority has no initials, so different people who share a surname can appear together.

Chasmosaurus Edmontosaurus Euoplocephalus Gorgosaurus Gryposaurus Panoplosaurus Stegoceras Styracosaurus

Found in Canada 73

Other genera found in Canada, from rocks of overlapping age, the most fossil sites there first.

Saurornitholestes Richardoestesia Troodon Paronychodon Dromaeosaurus Corythosaurus Chasmosaurus Lambeosaurus Stegoceras Gorgosaurus Prosaurolophus Stenonychosaurus Euoplocephalus Styracosaurus Daspletosaurus Gryposaurusand 57 more

Where its fossils were found

36 fossil sites, with present-day and ancient positions

Open the map at this time

Cite this page

Omnisaura (2026). Centrosaurus. Future Sailors. https://www.omnisaura.com/genera/centrosaurus. Data as of 10 October 2026.

What's changed

19 Oct 2026
Age (PBDB): confidence high → medium.

Every change to Omnisaura

Use this data

Download this genus as JSON With every source and licence attached. Also recorded in: Paleobiology Database · Wikipedia (English) · GBIF · Wikidata Spotted a problem? Tell us

Pictures

4 openly licensed pictures of Centrosaurus on Wikimedia Commons and museum sites, each with its own author and licence.

Centrosaurus.JPG
Sainterx, Public domain (released by the author, Wikimedia Commons)
Centrosaurus.png
Fred Wierum, CC BY-SA 4.0
NHM-UK_P_DF118_03_22_0337
The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London, CC BY 4.0
NHM-UK_P_DF118_03_22_0455
The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London, CC BY 4.0

Credits

Where this page comes from

Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
Natural History Museum Data PortalCC0 1.0 · catalogued specimens
WikidataCC0 1.0 · names and identifiers
OmnisauraOmnisaura editorial · confidence levels and gaps
PaleoMAP PaleoCoastlines (Kocsis and Scotese 2021)CC BY 4.0 · ancient coastlines on the small map
Natural EarthPublic domain · today's coastlines

Pictures linked from this page are credited beside each one, with their own licences; the full list is in the JSON download.