Ceratopsid Skull Element or Piece of Ankylosaur Osteoderm?

[PaleoNoel]

Hi everyone, I wanted to get some opinions on this piece I found in Montana's Hell Creek formation this past summer. My initial thoughts were that it was a ceratopsid skull fragment. It was a fossil I was planning on selling, but before I do I wanted to rule out the possibility that it was a piece of ankylosaur osteoderm as I have significantly less material from that clade of dinosaurs. The dimensions are about 8 cm by 7 cm. 

 

[Troodon]

The surface holes/foramen are not typical of an Osteoderm or skull element.   What's the profile in lateral view, could it be an ungual?

[PaleoNoel]

On 1/8/2022 at 4:16 PM, Troodon said:

The surface holes/foramen are not typical of an Osteoderm or skull element.   What's the profile in lateral view, could it be an ungual?

I think you may be right. After some comparison to Ceratopsid unguals, they appear to be quite similar.

Here's another view:

 

An Triceratops ungual from the Black Hills Institute for comparison.

[Troodon]

[Randyw]

Cool find! I wish i could find things like that!

[PaleoNoel]

17 hours ago, Randyw said:

Cool find! I wish i could find things like that!

Thank you, I've been very lucky to be able to hunt where I have.