Spinops is known from the
holotype NHMUK PV R 16307, a partial
parietal bone, preserving most of the midline bar. Referred material include NHMUK PV R 16308, a partial parietal bone, partial
dentary and unidentifiable
limb fragments, NHMUK PV R 16306, an incomplete
skull, preserving only the
dorsal portion of the skull, and NHMUK PV R 16309, a partial right squamosal. None of this material was found in articulation, however it was all closely associated in the same bone bed, in the northwestern region ("Steveville Badlands") of the
Dinosaur Provincial Park. Fossils of
Spinops were first found in 1916, and were housed in the
Natural History Museum in London. The material was not described until 2011, when the new species
Spinops sternbergorum was erected. The material was probably collected from the upper part of the
Oldman Formation or the lower part of the
Dinosaur Park Formation, dating to the
Campanian stage of the
Late Cretaceous period. The precise whereabouts of the bonebed that yielded the fossils is unknown due to poor field record keeping, but
Darren Tanke of the
Royal Tyrrell Museum is spearheading attempts at its relocation. The fossils were re-examined in 2011 by a team led by Dr Andrew A. Farke; which realized that the fossils represented an entirely new species of dinosaur.
Spinops was first named by
Andrew A. Farke,
Michael J. Ryan,
Paul M. Barrett,
Darren H. Tanke,
Dennis R. Braman,
Mark A. Loewen, and
Mark R. Graham in
2011; the
type species is
Spinops sternbergorum. The
generic name is derived from
Latin spina, "spine", and
Greek ops, "face", in reference to the unique ornamentation on the face. The
specific name honours
Charles H. and Levi Sternberg. ==Classification==