Styracosaurus and other horned dinosaurs are often depicted in popular culture as
herd animals. A bonebed composed of
Styracosaurus remains is known from the
Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta, about halfway up the formation. This bonebed is associated with different types of
river deposits. The mass deaths may have been a result of otherwise non-herding animals congregating around a waterhole in a period of drought, with evidence suggesting the environment may have been seasonal and semi-arid.
Paleontologists
Gregory Paul and Per Christiansen proposed that large ceratopsians such as
Styracosaurus were able to run faster than an
elephant, based on possible ceratopsian
trackways which did not exhibit signs of sprawling forelimbs.
Dentition and diet Styracosaurs were
herbivorous dinosaurs; they probably fed mostly on low growth because of the position of the head. They may, however, have been able to knock down taller
plants with their horns,
beak, and bulk. The
jaws were tipped with a deep, narrow beak, believed to have been better at grasping and plucking than biting. Ceratopsid teeth, including those of
Styracosaurus, were arranged in groups called batteries. Older teeth on top were continually replaced by the teeth underneath them. Unlike
hadrosaurids, which also had dental batteries, ceratopsid teeth sliced but did not grind. while others have suggested
ferns. Dodson has proposed that Late Cretaceous ceratopsians may have knocked down
angiosperm trees and then sheared off leaves and twigs.
Horns and frill The large nasal horns and frills of
Styracosaurus are among the most distinctive facial adornments of all dinosaurs. Their function has been the subject of debate since the first horned dinosaurs were discovered. Early in the 20th century, paleontologist
R. S. Lull proposed that the frills of ceratopsian dinosaurs acted as anchor points for their jaw muscles. He later noted that for
Styracosaurus, the spikes would have given it a formidable appearance. In 1996, Dodson supported the idea of muscle attachments in part and created detailed diagrams of possible muscle attachments in the frills of
Styracosaurus and
Chasmosaurus, but did not subscribe to the idea that they completely filled in the fenestrae. C. A. Forster, however, found no evidence of large muscle attachments on the frill bones. It was long believed that ceratopsians like
Styracosaurus used their frills and horns in defence against the large predatory dinosaurs of the time. Although pitting, holes, lesions, and other damage on ceratopsid skulls are often attributed to horn damage in combat, a 2006 study found no evidence for horn thrust injuries causing these forms of damage (for example, there is no evidence of infection or healing). Instead, non-pathological bone
resorption, or unknown bone diseases, are suggested as causes. However, a newer study compared incidence rates of skull lesions in
Triceratops and
Centrosaurus and showed that these were consistent with
Triceratops using its horns in combat and the frill being adapted as a protective structure, while lower pathology rates in
Centrosaurus may indicate visual rather than physical use of cranial ornamentation, or a form of combat focused on the body rather than the head; as
Centrosaurus was more closely related to
Styracosaurus and both genera had long nasal horns, the results for this genus would be more applicable for
Styracosaurus. The researchers also concluded that the damage found on the specimens in the study was often too localized to be caused by bone disease. The large frill on
Styracosaurus and related genera also may have helped to increase body area to
regulate body temperature, like the ears of the modern
elephant. A similar theory has been proposed regarding the plates of
Stegosaurus, although this use alone would not account for the bizarre and extravagant variation seen in different members of the
Ceratopsidae. Evidence that visual display was important, either in courtship or in other social behavior, can be seen in the fact that horned dinosaurs differ markedly in their adornments, making each species highly distinctive. Also, modern living creatures with such displays of horns and adornments use them in similar behavior. The use of the exaggerated structures in dinosaurs as species identification has been questioned, as no such function exists in vast majority of modern species of tetrapods (terrestrial vertebrates). A skull discovered in 2015 from a
Styracosaurus indicates that individual variation was likely commonplace in the genus. The asymmetrical nature of the horns in the specimen has been compared to deer, which often have asymmetrical antlers in various individuals. The study carried out may also indicate that the genus
Rubeosaurus may be synonymous with
Styracosaurus as a result. ==Paleoecology==