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''Koreaceratops'' () is a
It is based on KIGAM VP 200801, an articulated series of 36
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of basal 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. ...
n 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 ...
discovered in Albian-age Lower Cretaceous
Lower may refer to:
*Lower (surname)
*Lower Township, New Jersey
*Lower Receiver (firearms)
*Lower Wick
Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated about five miles south west of Dursley, eight ...
rocks of South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
.
Discovery
It is based on KIGAM VP 200801, an articulated series of 36 caudal
Caudal may refer to:
Anatomy
* Caudal (anatomical term) (from Latin ''cauda''; tail), used to describe how close something is to the trailing end of an organism
* Caudal artery, the portion of the dorsal aorta of a vertebrate that passes into the ...
vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic ...
e associated with partial hind limbs and ischia
Ischia ( , , ) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about from Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal in shape, it measures approximately east to west ...
. This specimen was found in a sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
block that had been incorporated into the Tando dam at Hwaseong City
Hwaseong () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It has the largest area of farmland of any city or county in Gyeonggi Province. Seoul Subway Line 1 passes through Hwaseong, stopping at Byeongjeom Station. Suin Bundang Line also passes t ...
; the way the specimen is cut off suggests that more of it was present before quarrying. The dam was built in 1994, and the bones were first brought to the attention of paleontologists in 2008, after a public official noticed them. The specimen came from the Sihwa Formation. ''Koreaceratops'' was described by Yuong-Nam Lee and colleagues in 2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
. The genus name is a combination of "Korea" and the Greek ''κέρας'' (''keras'') meaning 'horn' and ''ὄψις'' (''opsis'') meaning 'face'. The type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...
is ''K. hwaseongensis'', named after Hwaseong City.
Classification
''Koreaceratops'' is notable for the tallneural spines
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic ...
on its caudal vertebrae, and for the structure of its astragalus. In some of the distal
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...
caudal vertebrae, the neural spines are over five times the height of the vertebral centra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic ...
to which they attach. Lee ''et al''. noted that several other ceratopsians also had tall neural spines on their caudals. As this trait appears in several branches of ceratopsians, Lee ''et al.'' postulated that the feature was independently evolved, perhaps as an adaptation for swimming. Lee ''et al.'' performed a phylogenetic analysis
In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...
and found ''Koreaceratops'' to be positioned between ''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 m ...
'' and more derived
Derive may refer to:
* Derive (computer algebra system), a commercial system made by Texas Instruments
* ''Dérive'' (magazine), an Austrian science magazine on urbanism
*Dérive, a psychogeographical concept
See also
*
*Derivation (disambiguatio ...
ceratopsians. A 2022 study however, suggests it is closer to ''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. hellenik ...
'' than to earlier animals like ''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 gen ...
'' and ''Archaeoceratops''.
Paleobiology
An examination of the bone histology of ''Koreaceratops'' published in 2022 suggests that the type specimen was roughly eight years old when it died. The same study suggests that ''Koreaceratops'' lived in a semiarid environment, and that microbial erosion is responsible for the poor preservation of its distinguishing features. Thomas Holtz gave a length estimate of and a mass estimate as that of a beaver.See also
*Timeline of ceratopsian research
This timeline of ceratopsian research is a chronological listing of events in the history of paleontology focused on the ceratopsians, a group of herbivorous marginocephalian dinosaurs that evolved parrot-like beaks, bony frills, and, later, spe ...
References
Neoceratopsians Early Cretaceous dinosaurs of Asia Albian life Fossil taxa described in 2011 Ornithischian genera {{ceratopsian-stub