File:Protoceratops skeleton Carnegie Museum.jpg

English: Protoceratops andrewsi Granger & Gregory, 1923 - fossil ceratopsian dinosaur skeleton from the Cretaceous of Mongolia. (CM 9185, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA)

Ceratopsians are the "horned dinosaurs". They were large, quadrupedal, herbivorous dinosaurs having a beaked skull and a frill - an extension of bone behind the skull that partially covered the neck. Ceratopsian dinosaurs are known from the Jurassic and Cretaceous. The last members of the group died out at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, 65 million years ago.

Seen here is a Protoceratops andrewsi skeleton from the Cretaceous of Mongolia's Gobi Desert - this type of certaopsian lacked facial horns. The openings in the frill are called fenestra - their presence reduced the weight of the skull.

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Exhibit signage:

Protoceratops andrewsi "Andrews' first horned face"

Protoceratops lived late in the Cretaceous Period of the Mesozoic Era, about 80 million years ago.

Species Statistics

Classification: Dinosauria: Ornithischia: Ceratopsia: Neoceratopsia

Diet: Herbivorous

Distribution: Asia: Mongolia, China

Height: 20 inches (50.8 centimeters) Length: 51 inches (130 centimeters) Weight: 50 pounds (27 kilograms)

Protoceratops is a ceratopsian, or horned dinosaur - an earlier relative of the famous Triceratops.

It had a small bump on its snouth, rather than true horns, and a relatively small, plain neck frill, compared to the elaborate frills of later ceratopsians. Individuals with larger, taller neck frills and deeper snouts appear to be males. The skeleton on display may be that of an immature male.

Characteristics

Small nasal "horn", perhaps better developed in males.

Small, plain neck frill, possibly better developed in males.

Horn-covered beak for cropping plants and defense from predators.

Deep tail may have been for display to rivals or potential mates.

Slender limbs suggest it was relatively swift compared to later ceratopsians.

About this Specimen

Protoceratops specimen found in Mongolia, 1925

Specimen Number: CM 9185

Found: Bayn Dzak, Mongolia (Djadokhta Formation)

Discovered by: American Museum of Natural History (New York) Expedition, 1925; obtained via exchange, 1945

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Classification: Animalia, Chordata, Vertebrata, Reptilia, Archosauria, Dinosauria, Ornithischia, Marginocephalia, Ceratopsia, Protoceratopsidae

Stratigraphy: Djadokhta Formation, Campanian Stage, upper Upper Cretaceous

Locality: Bayn Dzak, southern Ulan Nur Basin, Gobi Desert, southern Mongolia

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Info. at:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protoceratops