Pentaceratops was a member of the family of dinosaurs known as ceratopsian, of which Triceratops was also a member. It was a fairly large plant-eater that had a long neck frill with large holes in the bone. These holes would have been covered with skin. It had long horns over its eyes and a smaller horn over its nose.

Pentaceratops gets its name of "Five Horned Face" not because it had five horns, but because it had longer epijugals - the spike-like cheek projections that are present on all ceratopsians to some degree. This dinosaur had a very large frill and to date, no complete frill has been found. These large frills may have been used as a display against frontal threats. There is some discussion that Chasmosaurus and Pentaceratops belong in the same genus.

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