Scar
Super Freak
Sorry about that last night. My girlfriend wouldn't allow me near the computer for any longer than to pre-order the maquette. I was hoping that she would fall asleep first and then I'd be able to get online, but having to be at work for 8:00 this morning at least afforded me the ability to wake up far before her.
Anyway, to the animal at hand...
True with our friend Styracosaurus here, but not all ceratopsians by a long shot. Styracosaurus had an extremely light skull for a ceratopsian. Compare it to another marginocephalian such as Triceratops, and you see a very different animal altogether. The bone in the crest of Triceratops is much more heavily ossified than Styracosaurus even at a younger age, which we know not only from a lack of crestal fenestra, but from cross-sections of bone that have Styracosaurid skulls much more heavily perforated with larger blood vessels than that of Triceratops. Quite plainly, the Styracosaurus had a much lighter skull and in all probability used it for sexually dimorphic ornamentation as well as a threat display both to predators and conspecifics.
For conspecifics, this animal would have been able to show that it was capable of expending the energy for the ornate ornamentation, while still having enough left for the rigors of daily existence in its late Cretaceous world, one which was abundant with threats. For female Styracosaurs this would have indicated the male to be fecund, and also capable of producing viable offspring that would likely share their parent's genetic strengths; a hearty parent = hearty offspring for a harsh world that doesn't forgive weakness. For males... well, the display would indeed have made the animal a threat, but different species respond to this characteristic in different ways. In some species of parrot, other males pay deference to the most ornate male without challenge, but in many, many other species both of birds and reptiles, the most ornate is viewed as a very real threat, and treated as not a superior but a combatant because of this dimorphism. To say it more simply, the vibrancy can display to other males of the same species that this is a male which cannot be ignored and must be dealt with rather quickly before he has the opportunity to steal away females.
As to the coloration, I ADORE it!!!!! Aside from all of the reasons implicit above, mainly my fervor is because the aposematism is so extremely stark. Again, this was an animal that relied on ornamentation as much as combat to survive. Take a good, hard look at that color. The animal has a hide that would blend in extremely well with its surroundings, affording it excellent camouflage in heavy undergrowth, but it still manages to maintain this vibrancy when needed to make it stand out. So many extant organisms share this very same trait, and what I love to see the most is the two large spots in the crest that are the same color as the Styracosaur's eyes. This makes a predator second-guess where and how it should launch its attack. Thanks to cephalization, most organisms have a wide range of crucial organs situated in the head, and invariably you'll find time and again that a predator will launch its attack toward the head in an effort to quickly disable the prey organism in question. The situation of the warning coloration on the frill deters predation in several ways. The Styracosaurus appears larger than it really is, raising the proposed "head" higher off the ground to be more intimidating, but also to situate it right amidst a bloom of dangerous horns when in reality the head is situated a bit lower and when a predator is focused on the top of the crest its attention is diverted away from saber-like horn sitting atop the beak. It's an elegant system of defense, and one which is captured so very, very well here, all thanks to the choice of color scheme.
Lastly I will touch on the pose, since I have to be getting to work. It conveys a sense of regality in this animal. It isn't the largest in its environment, but seems so very confident that it doesn't have to be large in order to be powerful. It seems extremely self-assure, possessed of a proud demeanor characteristic of many of the more dangerous herbivores today. It is truly breathtaking.
So much thought went into this singular piece, as it seems to for each and every Dinosauria statue that SS continues to make. Well done, gents. Truly well done.
:chew It'll be a long night for the girlfriend at work, so hopefully I'll get on with a good time window to talk about this some more! 
Anyway, to the animal at hand...
True with our friend Styracosaurus here, but not all ceratopsians by a long shot. Styracosaurus had an extremely light skull for a ceratopsian. Compare it to another marginocephalian such as Triceratops, and you see a very different animal altogether. The bone in the crest of Triceratops is much more heavily ossified than Styracosaurus even at a younger age, which we know not only from a lack of crestal fenestra, but from cross-sections of bone that have Styracosaurid skulls much more heavily perforated with larger blood vessels than that of Triceratops. Quite plainly, the Styracosaurus had a much lighter skull and in all probability used it for sexually dimorphic ornamentation as well as a threat display both to predators and conspecifics.
For conspecifics, this animal would have been able to show that it was capable of expending the energy for the ornate ornamentation, while still having enough left for the rigors of daily existence in its late Cretaceous world, one which was abundant with threats. For female Styracosaurs this would have indicated the male to be fecund, and also capable of producing viable offspring that would likely share their parent's genetic strengths; a hearty parent = hearty offspring for a harsh world that doesn't forgive weakness. For males... well, the display would indeed have made the animal a threat, but different species respond to this characteristic in different ways. In some species of parrot, other males pay deference to the most ornate male without challenge, but in many, many other species both of birds and reptiles, the most ornate is viewed as a very real threat, and treated as not a superior but a combatant because of this dimorphism. To say it more simply, the vibrancy can display to other males of the same species that this is a male which cannot be ignored and must be dealt with rather quickly before he has the opportunity to steal away females.
As to the coloration, I ADORE it!!!!! Aside from all of the reasons implicit above, mainly my fervor is because the aposematism is so extremely stark. Again, this was an animal that relied on ornamentation as much as combat to survive. Take a good, hard look at that color. The animal has a hide that would blend in extremely well with its surroundings, affording it excellent camouflage in heavy undergrowth, but it still manages to maintain this vibrancy when needed to make it stand out. So many extant organisms share this very same trait, and what I love to see the most is the two large spots in the crest that are the same color as the Styracosaur's eyes. This makes a predator second-guess where and how it should launch its attack. Thanks to cephalization, most organisms have a wide range of crucial organs situated in the head, and invariably you'll find time and again that a predator will launch its attack toward the head in an effort to quickly disable the prey organism in question. The situation of the warning coloration on the frill deters predation in several ways. The Styracosaurus appears larger than it really is, raising the proposed "head" higher off the ground to be more intimidating, but also to situate it right amidst a bloom of dangerous horns when in reality the head is situated a bit lower and when a predator is focused on the top of the crest its attention is diverted away from saber-like horn sitting atop the beak. It's an elegant system of defense, and one which is captured so very, very well here, all thanks to the choice of color scheme.
Lastly I will touch on the pose, since I have to be getting to work. It conveys a sense of regality in this animal. It isn't the largest in its environment, but seems so very confident that it doesn't have to be large in order to be powerful. It seems extremely self-assure, possessed of a proud demeanor characteristic of many of the more dangerous herbivores today. It is truly breathtaking.
So much thought went into this singular piece, as it seems to for each and every Dinosauria statue that SS continues to make. Well done, gents. Truly well done.
:chew It'll be a long night for the girlfriend at work, so hopefully I'll get on with a good time window to talk about this some more! 
