Newfound dinosaur with giant, horned headpiece named after iconic Norse god

Paleontologists have named a newly unearthed dinosaur after the Norse god Loki due to a striking similarity between its horns and the deity's regal headpiece, as it was depicted in recent superhero films and television shows.

Scientists described the new dino, Lokiceratops rangiformis, in a study published Thursday (June 20) in the journal PeerJ. The researchers identified the species based on the partial remains of a skull unearthed in 2019 at the Judith River Formation in Montana's Badlands, around 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the U.S.-Canada border. 

The species belongs to the clade Ceratopsia — a group of herbivorous horned dinosaurs, including Triceratops, that is renowned for its members' large bony head plates, or frills, and long, pointed horns.

However, L. rangiformis, which was likely around 22 feet (6.7 meters) long and weighed 5.5 tons (5 metric tons), "pushes the envelope on bizarre ceratopsian headgear" to extremes never seen before, study co-lead author Joseph Sertich, a paleontologist at Colorado State University, said in a statement.

L. rangiformis had a massive frill that was adorned with a pair of flattened, curvy horns at the top, in addition to the standard lance-like horns protruding from above its eyes. The frill horns are the largest ever seen in any ceratopsian. The unique headgear inspired the scientists to name the dinosaur's genus Lokiceratops in honor of the Norse trickster god Loki, who is often depicted wearing a helmet with similarly ornate horns — especially in modern comic-book portrayals by Marvel. 

The newfound species also had a third pair of asymmetrical horns at the top of its frill, which earned it the species name rangiformis, meaning "looks like caribou" in Latin, because caribous (Rangifer tarandus) also have antlers that are longer on one side of their head than the other. 

The dinosaur's skull also notably lacks a nose horn, a feature most other ceratopsians possess, including Triceratops.