Protoceratops

Name meaning:

First Horned Snout

Period of life:

75-71 mya

Period:

Cretaceous period

Habitat:

Deserts and semi-deserts

Taxonomy:

Marginocephalians

Countries:

Cretaceous period Protoceratops | 3D Dinopedia

Morturneria

Stegouros

Protoceratops (75-71 mya)

What the name means: First Horned Snout

Protoceratops is a small ceratopsian from Asia that lived during the Cretaceous period about 75 million years ago. The first fossils of this dinosaur were discovered in 1922 in the Gobi Desert. Researchers immediately noted the importance of this find and the horned lizard was proclaimed as the "long-awaited ancestor of Triceratops." Protoceratops reached approximately two meters in length and slightly more than half a meter in height. It was a quadrupedal dinosaur, and its skull ended with a massive beak. The large number of specimens found in high concentrations suggests that Protoceratops lived in herds, digging in the ground for roots, tubers, and other edible vegetation. The broad chest of this animal accommodated a huge stomach, capable of digesting incredible volumes of plant food.

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