Ten years ago, Bill Shipp, a novice fossil collector and a retired nuclear physicist, stumbled upon a fascinating skeleton of an ancient horned female dinosaur on his Montana ranch. He later named her Judith.
By merely looking at the fossil, he was able to take a note of the misery that the animal had to go through during her lifetime. She had severe arthritis in one of her front legs and a horn-sized hole in her skull, which might have appeared possibly because of an attack by a member of her own species.
In addition, the fossils recovered from the site were covered with marks of sharp teeth, suggesting that the animal might have lost her life because of an attack by a predator. Despite all the misery and the difficulties that Judith had to get through, the growth rings on her shin bone suggests that she had an amazing capability to recover from a setback or an injury.
Now, Judith has been identified as the first representative of a newly named species. In addition, Judith's skeletal remains are all set to go on display this week at the Canadian Museum of Nature.
The new species has been named Spiclypeus shipporum after it's spiked shield and the name of its original discoverer, the Shipp family. The fossil study published today in the journal PLOS One indicates that the dinosaur apparently had head frills and bones growing out of its face.
The media advisory announcement about the new species took place on May 18, Wednesday. The advisory invites the media personnel to come and have a look at the fossil bones and conduct interviews with the individuals involved in the study. According to Jordan Mallon, paleontologist at the Canadian Museum of Nature, Judith is a close relative of well-known Triceratops.
"This is a spectacular new addition to the family of horned dinosaurs that roamed western North America between 85 and 66 million years ago," said Mallon, in a press statement. "It provides new evidence of dinosaur diversity during the Late Cretaceous period from an area that is likely to yield even more discoveries."
The following video by the Canadian Museum of Nature describes the story of Judith: