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Protoceratopsid
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 on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protoceratops
''Protoceratops'' (; ) is a genus of small protoceratopsid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous, around 75 to 71 million years ago. The genus ''Protoceratops'' includes two species: ''P. andrewsi'' and the larger ''P. hellenikorhinus''. The former was described in 1923 with fossils from the Mongolian Djadokhta Formation, and the latter in 2001 with fossils from the Chinese Bayan Mandahu Formation. ''Protoceratops'' was initially believed to be an ancestor of ankylosaurians and larger ceratopsians, such as ''Triceratops'' and relatives, until the discoveries of other protoceratopsids. Populations of ''P. andrewsi'' may have evolved into ''Bagaceratops'' through anagenesis. ''Protoceratops'' were small ceratopsians, about long and in body mass. While adults were largely quadrupedal, juveniles had the capacity to walk around bipedally if necessary. They were characterized by a proportionally large skull, short and stiff neck, and neck frill. The frill was likel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protoceratops Andrewsi
''Protoceratops'' (; ) is a genus of small protoceratopsid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous, around 75 to 71 million years ago. The genus ''Protoceratops'' includes two species: ''P. andrewsi'' and the larger ''P. hellenikorhinus''. The former was described in 1923 with fossils from the Mongolian Djadokhta Formation, and the latter in 2001 with fossils from the Chinese Bayan Mandahu Formation. ''Protoceratops'' was initially believed to be an ancestor of ankylosaurians and larger ceratopsians, such as ''Triceratops'' and relatives, until the discoveries of other protoceratopsids. Populations of ''P. andrewsi'' may have evolved into ''Bagaceratops'' through anagenesis. ''Protoceratops'' were small ceratopsians, about long and in body mass. While adults were largely quadrupedal, juveniles had the capacity to walk around bipedally if necessary. They were characterized by a proportionally large skull, short and stiff neck, and neck frill. The frill was likel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protoceratopsidae Size Comparison
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 on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bagaceratops
''Bagaceratops'' (meaning "small-horned face") is a genus of small protoceratopsid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous, around 72 to 71 million years ago. ''Bagaceratops'' remains have been reported from the Barun Goyot Formation and Bayan Mandahu Formation. One specimen may argue the possible presence of ''Bagaceratops'' in the Djadochta Formation. ''Bagaceratops'' was among the smallest ceratopsians, growing up to in length, with a weight about . Although emerging late in the reign of the dinosaurs, ''Bagaceratops'' had a fairly primitive anatomy—when compared to the much derived ceratopsids—and kept the small body size that characterized early ceratopsians. Unlike its close relative, ''Protoceratops'', ''Bagaceratops'' lacked premaxillary teeth (cylindrical, blunt teeth near the tip of the upper jaw). History of discovery During the large field work of the Polish-Mongolian Palaeontological Expeditions in the 1970s, abundant protoceratopsid specimens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Breviceratops
''Breviceratops'' (meaning "short horned face") is a genus of protoceratopsid dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now the Barun Goyot Formation, Mongolia. Discovery and naming The first fossils were discovered during the 1960s by the Polish expedition to the Nemegt Basin of Gobi Desert. The specimens were originally described by Teresa Maryańska and Halszka Osmólska in 1975 and named as a second species of ''Protoceratops'', ''Protoceratops kozlowskii'', the specific name honouring Polish paleontologist Roman Kozłowski. The holotype, ZPAL MgD-I/117, was found in the Khulsan locality of the Barun Goyot Formation dating from the Late Campanian. It consists of a partial juvenile postcranial skeleton with skull. Other specimens were referred from the Hermiin Tsav and Khulsan localities: MgD-I/116, a skull and lower jaws of a small juvenile; MgD-I/118, fragmentary postcrania and lower jaws of a juvenile; MgD-I/119, a dentary and three neural arches; MgD-I/20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montanoceratops
''Montanoceratops'' is an extinct genus of small ceratopsian dinosaur that lived approximately 70 million years ago during the latter part of the Cretaceous Period in what is now Montana and Alberta. ''Montanoceratops'' was a small sized, moderately-built, ground-dwelling, quadrupedal herbivore, that could grow up to an estimated in length and in body mass. Description ''Montanoceratops'' was a typical primitive ceratopsian in many respects, distinguished from the later species by the presence of claws, rather than hooves, and by having teeth in its upper jaw, rather than a toothless beak. It was once thought to have a horn on its nose but that was a misplaced cheek horn.Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2008) ''Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages'Supplementary Information/ref> According to Brown and Schlaikjer (1935), ''Montanoceratops'' can be distinguished based on the following characteristics: * the nasal bone is proportionally lar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 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 characte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ajkaceratops
''Ajkaceratops'' (pronounced "oi-ka-sera-tops") is a genus of ceratopsian dinosaur described in 2010. It lived during the Late Cretaceous in the western Tethyan archipelago, in what is now Europe. The type species, ''A. kozmai'', is most closely related to forms in east Asia, from where its ancestors may have migrated by island-hopping. The generic name, ''Ajkaceratops'', honors Ajka, a town in Hungary where the fossils were first discovered, combined with the given greek nomination ''ceratops'', meaning "horned face". The specific name, "''kozmai"'', honors Károly Kozma. Description The holotype, cataloged as MTM V2009.192.1, consists only of a few skull fragments, including rostral bones, fused premaxillae, and maxillae fragments (beak and jaw fragments). These fossils are kept in the Hungarian Natural History Museum, in Budapest. Although the fossils are fragmentary, the paper describing ''Ajkaceratops'' estimated a body length of . Other material includes four predentary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 charact ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leptoceratops
''Leptoceratops'' (meaning 'Thin-horned face' and derived from Greek ''lepto-/λεπτο-'' meaning 'small', 'insignificant', 'slender', 'meagre' or 'lean', ''kerat-/κερατ-'' meaning 'horn' and ''-ops/ωψ'' meaning face), is a genus of leptoceratopsid ceratopsian dinosaurs from the late Cretaceous Period (late Maastrichtian age, 68.8-66 Ma ago) of what is now Western North America. Their skulls have been found in Alberta, Canada and Wyoming. Description ''Leptoceratops'' could probably stand and run on their hind legs: analysis of forelimb function indicates that even though they could not pronate their hands, they could walk on four legs. Paul proposed that ''Leptoceratops'' was around long and could have weighed , but Tereschenko proposed a maximum length of . Discovery and species The first small ceratopsian named ''Leptoceratops'' was discovered in 1910 by Barnum Brown in the Red Deer Valley in Alberta, Canada. He described it four years later. The first specimen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Sereno
Paul Callistus Sereno (born October 11, 1957) is a professor of paleontology at the University of Chicago and a National Geographic "explorer-in-residence" who has discovered several new dinosaur species on several continents, including at sites in Inner Mongolia, Argentina, Morocco and Niger. One of his most widely publicized discoveries is that of a nearly complete specimen of ''Sarcosuchus imperator'' — popularly known as SuperCroc — at Gadoufaoua in the Tenere desert of Niger. Biography Youth and education The son of a mail carrier and an art teacher at Prairie Elementary, Sereno grew up in Naperville, Illinois and graduated from Naperville Central High School. He was then educated at Northern Illinois University (B.S., Biological Sciences, 1979) and Columbia University (M.A., Vertebrate Paleontology, 1981; M. Phil., Geological Sciences, 1981; Ph.D., Geological Sciences, 1987). Career Sereno was named one of ''People'' magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People (1997). Ser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clade
A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, the equivalent Latin term ''cladus'' (plural ''cladi'') is often used in taxonomical literature. The common ancestor may be an individual, a population, or a species (extinct or extant). Clades are nested, one in another, as each branch in turn splits into smaller branches. These splits reflect evolutionary history as populations diverged and evolved independently. Clades are termed monophyletic (Greek: "one clan") groups. Over the last few decades, the cladistic approach has revolutionized biological classification and revealed surprising evolutionary relationships among organisms. Increasingly, taxonomists try to avoid naming taxa that are not clades; that is, taxa that are not monophyletic. Some of the relationships between organisms ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
