Ceratopsia
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Ceratopsia
Ceratopsia or Ceratopia ( or ; Greek: "horned faces") is a group of herbivorous, beaked dinosaurs that thrived in what are now North America, Europe, and Asia, during the Cretaceous Period, although ancestral forms lived earlier, in the Jurassic. The earliest known ceratopsian, '' Yinlong downsi'', lived between 161.2 and 155.7 million years ago.Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2011) ''Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages,'Winter 2010 Appendix./ref> The last ceratopsian species, '' Triceratops prorsus'', became extinct during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, . ''Triceratops'' is by far the best-known ceratopsian to the general public. It is traditional for ceratopsian genus names to end in "''-ceratops''", although this is not always the case. One of the first named genera was '' Ceratops'' itself, which lent its name to the group, although it is considered a ''nomen dubium'' today as its fossil remains have no distinguishing ch ...
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Psittacosaurus
''Psittacosaurus'' ( ; "parrot lizard") is a genus of extinct ceratopsian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of what is now Asia, existing between 126 and 101 million years ago. It is notable for being the most species-rich non-avian dinosaur genus. Up to 12 species are known, from across China, Mongolia, Russia, and Thailand. The species of ''Psittacosaurus'' were obligate bipeds at adulthood, with a high skull and a robust beak. One individual was found preserved with long filaments on the tail, similar to those of ''Tianyulong''. ''Psittacosaurus'' probably had complex behaviours, based on the proportions and relative size of the brain. It may have been active for short periods of time during the day and night, and had well-developed senses of smell and vision. ''Psittacosaurus'' was one of the earliest ceratopsians, but closer to ''Triceratops'' than ''Yinlong''. Once in its own family, Psittacosauridae, with other genera like ''Hongshanosaurus'', it is now considered to be s ...
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Triceratops
''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivorous chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, about 68 million years ago in what is now North America. It is one of the last-known non-avian dinosaur genera, and became extinct in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event 66 million years ago. The name ''Triceratops'', which literally means 'three-horned face', is derived from the Greek words () meaning 'three', () meaning 'horn', and () meaning 'face'. Bearing a large bony frill, three horns on the skull, and a large four-legged body, exhibiting convergent evolution with rhinoceroses and bovines, ''Triceratops'' is one of the most recognizable of all dinosaurs and the most well-known ceratopsid. It was also one of the largest, up to long and in body mass. It shared the landscape with and was most likely preyed upon by ''Tyrannosaurus'', though it is less certain that two adults did ...
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Protoceratopsidae
Protoceratopsidae is a family of basal (primitive) ceratopsians from the Late Cretaceous period. Although ceratopsians have been found all over the world, protoceratopsids are only definitively known from Cretaceous strata in Asia, with most specimens found in China and Mongolia. As ceratopsians, protoceratopsids were herbivorous, with constantly replacing tooth batteries made for slicing through plants and a hooked beak for grabbing them. Protoceratopsids were small ceratopsians around 1-2.5 m in length. Their bony frill and horns were much smaller than more derived members of Ceratopsia, such as ceratopsids. Description Protoceratopsids were relatively small ceratopsians, averaging around 1-2.5 m in length from head to tail. Protoceratopsids have a frill and rostral bone characteristic of all ceratopsians. Their snout is particularly wedge-shaped with tall and narrow nostrils situated high on it. The antorbital fenestra is unusually small, and the antorbital fossa sits high ...
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Liaoceratops
''Liaoceratops'', meaning "Liaoning horned face", is a ceratopsian dinosaur believed to be an early relative of the horned ceratopsids. It lived in the Early Cretaceous, 126 million years ago. It was discovered in China by a team of American and Chinese scientists. ''Liaoceratops'' was much smaller than its later relatives, but offers a glimpse into the early evolution of this group of dinosaurs. Discoveries and naming ''Liaoceratops'' was discovered in the famous Liaoning Province of China, where several fossils of feathered dinosaurs have also been collected. The type species ''Liaoceratops yanzigouensis'' was in 2002 named and described by Xu Xing, Peter Makovicky, Wang Xiaolin, Mark Norell and You Hailu. The generic name is derived from Liaoning and the Greek ''keras'', "horn" and ''ops'', "face". The specific name refers to the town Yanzigou. The holotype IVPP V12738 has been found in the Yixian Formation dating from the Barremian. These beds have also yielded fossil ...
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Archaeoceratops
''Archaeoceratops'', meaning "ancient horned face", is a genus of basal neoceratopsian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian stage) of north central China. It appears to have been bipedal and quite small, reaching in length and in body mass. It had a comparatively large head but no horns, possessing only a small bony frill projecting from the back of its head. Discovery and species Two specimens were found in the Middle Gray Unit of the Xinminbao Group, Gongpoquan Basin of the Mazong Shan area of Gansu Province, north central China. The type species, ''A. oshimai'', was named by Dong Zhiming and Azuma in 1997. It is the first basal neoceratopsian discovered in this area. The type specimen, IVPP V11114, consists of a partially complete skeleton including skull, caudal vertebrae, pelvis, and most of a hind foot. The second specimen (paratype), IVPP V11115, consists of an incomplete skeleton with a relatively well preserved caudal series, a partial hind limb, and a com ...
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Serendipaceratops
''Serendipaceratops'' (meaning "serendipitous horned face") is a genus of herbivorous ornithischian dinosaur, possibly an ankylosaur, from the early Cretaceous Period of Australia. The type species, ''S. arthurcclarkei'', was named in 2003. Discovery and species The first known bone from ''Serendipaceratops'', an ulna (lower arm bone), was in 1993 discovered in Australia near Kilcunda, on the south-east coast of Victoria. The find took place during the " Dinosaur Cove" project, uncovering remains at the basis of a cliff face at the shoreline; the fossil was excavated in the "Arch", a small area of sea-floor protected from the waves by a dam. In 2003, the type species ''Serendipaceratops arthurcclarkei'' was named and described by Tom Rich and Patricia Vickers-Rich.T. Rich and P. Vickers-Rich. 2003. Protoceratopsian? ulnae from Australia. ''Records of the Queen Victoria Museum Launceston'' 113:1-12 Initially, the discoverers had not considered the possibility that the fossil ...
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Mosaiceratops
''Mosaiceratops'' is a genus of ceratopsian, described by Zheng, Jin & Xu in 2015 and found in the Xiaguan Formation of Neixiang County. ''Mosaiceratops'' lived in the upper Cretaceous in what is now the Henan Province of China. Although phylogenetic analyses have found ''Mosaiceratops'' to be the most basal neoceratopsian, the authors noted that several features in the premaxilla and nasal bones are shared with '' Psittacosaurus'', indicating that neoceratopsians evolved premaxillary teeth twice and that ''Psittacosaurus'' is not as primitive as previously thought.Zheng, W., Jin, X., & Xu, X. (2015)A psittacosaurid-like basal neoceratopsian from the Upper Cretaceous of central China and its implications for basal ceratopsian evolution ''Scientific reports'', 5. article number 14190: 1-9; doi:10.1038/srep14190 Discovery On the westbank of the river Tuanhe in Neixiang in Henan the skeleton was discovered of a small ceratopian. The fossil was prepared by Sheng Yiming and Yu Ch ...
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Aquilops
''Aquilops'' is an early herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur dating from the Early Cretaceous of North America, approximately 109 million to 104 million years ago. The type species is ''A. americanus''. Description The skull is 84.2 mm long. The holotype is possibly not from a full-grown individual. A comparison with related species indicates it might have been at 60% of its adult length. Wedel estimated the total body length of ''Aquilops'' at 60 cm and its weight at 1.5 kg. The authors established some unique traits. The rostral, the bone core of the snout beak, curves downwards and has an arched keel on its top with a bump on the front. In front of the tooth row the upper jaw rim is over its total length concave in side view. The skull opening, the antorbital fenestra, is twice as long as it is tall and has a pointed rear, below the eye socket. Discovery and naming In 1997, paleontologist Scott Madsen found the single fossil, a partial skull, in Carbon County ...
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Auroraceratops
''Auroraceratops'', meaning "dawn horned face", is a genus of bipedal basal neoceratopsian dinosaur, from the Early Cretaceous ( Aptian age) of north central China. The etymology of the generic name refers to its status as an early ceratopsian and also to Dawn Dodson, wife of Peter Dodson, one of the palaeontologists who described it. Discovery and species The first specimen was found in the Xinminpu Group, Gongpoquan Basin of the Mazong Shan area of Gansu Province, north central China. As of 2021, fossils from more than 80 more individuals have been found, including complete skeletons. The specific descriptor, "''rugosus''", Latin for "rough", refers to the various rugose areas on the surface of both skull and jaw, namely the wrinkled expansion of the lacrimal bone distinctive of this animal. ''Auroraceratops'' is the second basal neoceratopsian to be found in the Mazong Shan area, after ''Archaeoceratops''. The type specimen, IG-2004-VD-001, consists of a nearly compl ...
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Zuniceratops
''Zuniceratops'' ('Zuni-horned face') was a ceratopsian dinosaur from the mid Turonian of the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now New Mexico, United States. It lived about 10 million years earlier than the more familiar horned Ceratopsidae and provides an important window on their ancestry''.'' Description ''Zuniceratops'' measured about long. It probably weighed about , making it substantially smaller than most ceratopsids. The skull bears a well-developed pair of brow horns, similar to those of chasmosaurs and primitive centrosaurs, but the nose horn is absent. The brow horns are thought to have grown much larger with age. The snout is long and low, like that of chasmosaurines. The frill was a thin, broad, shield-like structure. It bore a pair of large holes but lacked epoccipital bones, as in '' Protoceratops''. Overall, the anatomy is much more primitive than that of the ceratopsids, but more advanced than in protoceratopsids. Discovery and species ''Zuniceratop ...
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Beg Tse
''Beg'' (after the Himalayan war deity Beg-tse) is a genus of neoceratopsian dinosaur from the early Cretaceous period of Mongolia. The genus contains a single species, ''Beg tse'', known from a partial skull and very fragmentary postcrania. ''Beg'' represents the most basal neoceratopsian currently known. Discovery and naming The holotype, IGM 100/3652, was discovered in 2015 near the town of Tsogt-Ovoo in the Ömnögovi Province of Mongolia. Described from the Ulaanoosh Formation, the specimen is dated to 113 to 94 million years ago, at the boundary of the Lower and Upper Cretaceous. ''Beg'' is named after Beg-tse, a Himalayan deity who is the god of war in Mongolian culture. The deity is often depicted with a rugose face and/or body, similar to the appearance of the preserved skull of the dinosaur. Description Based on the size of the skull, about long, ''Beg'' was most likely a medium-sized basal ceratopsian, similar in size to '' Yinlong'' and '' Liaoceratop ...
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Microceratus
''Microceratus'' (meaning "small-horned") is a genus of small ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in the Cretaceous period in Asia. It walked on two legs, had short front arms, a characteristic ceratopsian frill and beak-like mouth, and was around long. It was one of the first ceratopsians, or horned dinosaurs, along with '' Psittacosaurus'' in Mongolia. Discovery The type species, ''Microceratops gobiensis'', was first described by Bohlin in 1953, and so was the second species, ''M. sulcidens'', which may belong to ''Asiaceratops'' instead. However, the generic name was already preoccupied by an ichneumon wasp (subfamily Cryptinae) with the same name. Though much of the material has since been reassigned to the genus '' Graciliceratops'', a replacement name ''Microceratus'' was created by Mateus in 2008 for the type specimen. Classification ''Microceratus'' belonged to the Ceratopsia (Ancient Greek for "horned face"), a group of herbivorous dinosaurs with parrot-like beaks w ...
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