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05th Jun 2015

Scientists identify newly-discovered ‘Hellboy’ dinosaur

Tom Victor

It’s not every day you come across an entirely undiscovered species of dinosaur.

A ‘frilly’ triceratops-like creature was discovered a decade ago in Alberta, Canada, but it was only recently that researchers noticed features which marked it out as a new species altogether.

The team at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller have named the creature ‘Hellboy’ after the comic character, portrayed on camera by actor Ron Perlman.

Its scientific name is ‘Regaliceratops Peterhewsi’, having been first discovered by a Canadian called Peter Hews in 2005.

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(Photo via https://www.flickr.com/photos/tyrrellmuseum)

Explaining the name, they cited “the combination of difficult excavation conditions and hardness of the rock surrounding the skull”.

We wonder if the news will spark any further discoveries, or sequels, if you will.