Scientists Discover A New Horned Dinosaur Nicknamed Hellboy, World Demands More Dinosaur-Based Horror Comics

There are few headlines in this world of ours that combine my interests as perfectly as "Scientists Identify A New Dinosaur And Give It The Nickname 'Hellboy.'" Like, maybe if the scientists were riding dirtbikes and skateboards, or the discovery of the new fossils came as a result of someone's bat-themed vigilante activities, that would do it, but let's be real here: Those are pretty unlikely scenarios, and imagining them is just improving on perfection.

And the reality of the situation is pretty perfect indeed: As reported by NPR, the newly identified Regaliceratops peterhewsi has been informally named after Mike Mignola's perpetually grumpy paranormal investigator, owing to the presence of a pair of prominent horns just above its eyes. As for whether it filed those horns down as a rejection of its demonic heritage, the fossil record remains sadly incomplete.

According to paleontologist Caleb Brown, the horns are the distinguishing feature that sets Hellboy the Dinosaur apart from similar dinosaurs:

Unlike Triceratops, which Brown says sported "almost comically small" horns above its eyes, "Hellboy" has large, sharp protrusions there. Along with the new dinosaur's large shield-like frill, "the combined result looks like a crown," Brown says.

"This new species is a Chasmosaurine, but it has ornamentation more similar to Centrosaurines," he says. "It also comes from a time period following the extinction of the Centrosaurines."

Meaning that the two groups evolved the same features independently.

I'd like to think that Regaliceratops also featured an oversized right foreleg that it used to punch dinosaur ghosts and dino-werewolves, but that information was left out of the article. If anyone at Dark Horse is reading this, though, that should be the plot of a comic on stands as soon as humanly possible, thanks in advance.