''Auroraceratops'', meaning "dawn horned face", is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of bipedal

basal Basal or basilar is a term meaning ''base'', ''bottom'', or ''minimum''. Science * Basal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location for features associated with the base of an organism or structure * Basal (medicine), a minimal level that is nec ...

neoceratopsian

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

, from the

Early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous (geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous ( chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma. Geology Pr ...

(

Aptian The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous Epoch or Series and encompasses the time from 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma to 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma (million years ag ...

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 Peter Dodson (born August 20, 1946) is an American paleontologist who has published many papers and written and collaborated on books about dinosaurs. An authority on Ceratopsians, he has also authored several papers and textbooks on hadrosaurs ...

, one of the

palaeontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

s who described it.

Discovery and species

The first specimen was found in the Xinminpu Group, Gongpoquan Basin of the

Mazong Shan The Mǎzōng Shān () is a minor mountain range of Subei Mongol Autonomous County, Jiuquan, northern Gansu, China, between the Altay range to the north and the Qilian range to the south. The Mǎzōng Shān peak rises to 2584 m. Climate Mount M ...

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 Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

for "rough", refers to the various

rugose Rugose means "wrinkled". It may refer to: * Rugosa, an extinct order of coral, whose rugose shape earned it the name * Rugose, adjectival form of rugae Species with "rugose" in their names * ''Idiosoma nigrum'', more commonly, a black rugose trap ...

areas on the surface of both

skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, t ...

and jaw, namely the wrinkled expansion of the

lacrimal bone The lacrimal bone is a small and fragile bone of the facial skeleton; it is roughly the size of the little fingernail. It is situated at the front part of the medial wall of the orbit. It has two surfaces and four borders. Several bony landmarks of ...

distinctive of this animal. ''Auroraceratops'' is the second basal neoceratopsian to be found in the Mazong Shan area, after ''Archaeoceratops''. The

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

specimen, IG-2004-VD-001, consists of a nearly complete subadult skull lacking the

rostral bone 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 Jurassi ...

and parietal crest.

Description

Though most other neoceratopsians are characterized by a long, narrow snout, ''Auroraceratops'' has a shorter wider one. The skull itself is rather flat and wide. The

premaxilla The premaxilla (or praemaxilla) is one of a pair of small cranial bones at the very tip of the upper jaw of many animals, usually, but not always, bearing teeth. In humans, they are fused with the maxilla. The "premaxilla" of therian mammal has ...

e have at least two pairs of striated fang-like teeth. Paired rugose areas, very probably covered in

keratin Keratin () is one of a family of structural fibrous proteins also known as ''scleroproteins''. Alpha-keratin (α-keratin) is a type of keratin found in vertebrates. It is the key structural material making up scales, hair, nails, feathers, ...

in life, are in front of the eyes and on the

jugal The jugal is a skull bone found in most reptiles, amphibians and birds. In mammals, the jugal is often called the malar or zygomatic. It is connected to the quadratojugal and maxilla, as well as other bones, which may vary by species. Anat ...

with corresponding areas on the lower jaw. These roughened knobs were likely to have been used for inter- and intra-specific interactions. While they would not have been much use as a physical defense against predators, another possible function for these structures would be in pushing or butting contests between members of the same species either for mating rights or social disputes. ''Auroraceratops'' is a rather derived moderate-sized basal neoceratopsian that adds diversity to that clade, displaying skull features not present in ''

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 bo ...

'' or ''

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 ...

''. A detailed analysis of the post-cranial skeleton published in 2019 showed that the animal would have walked bipedally and had an estimated length of , hip height of and body mass of .

References

Ceratopsians Early Cretaceous dinosaurs of Asia Aptian life Paleontology in Gansu Fossils of South Korea Fossil taxa described in 2005 Taxa named by Peter Dodson Ornithischian genera {{ceratopsian-stub

Discovery and species

Description

See also

References