5). What kind of habitat did Protoceratops live in? 8. The individuals of this block were identified as a P. andrewsi and V. mongoliensis. The pubis was the smallest element of the pelvic girdle and it had an irregular shape, although its lower end was developed into a pointed bony projection downwards. They appear to have cared for their young. [5] Barsbold in his brief 1974 description of the Fighting Dinosaurs specimen accepted this hypothesis and suggested that Protoceratops was amphibious (water-adapted) and had well-developed swimming capacities based on its side to side flattened tail with very high neural spines. [39] Tereshchenko in 2021 fully described the axial skeleton of this specimen.[40]. Lastly, both animals were buried by sand. It has been examined and studied by numerous researchers and paleontologists, debating on how the animals got buried and preserved altogether. Ceratopsians (including protoceratopsids), along with Euoplocephalus, Hungarosaurus, parkosaurid, ornithopod and heterodontosaurine dinosaurs, were found to be in the former category, indicating that Protoceratops and relatives had strong bite forces and relied mostly on its jaws to process food. The ilium was a large element, having a narrow preacetabular process (anterior end) and a wide postacetabular process (posterior end). Such use of the frill may suggest that intraspecific social behavior was highly important for Protoceratops. Like Triceratops, its North American relative, Protoceratops walked on 4 legs, was heavily built, and had a parrot-like beak. Given that soft-shelled eggs are more vulnerable to deshydratation and crushing, Protoceratops may have buried its eggs in moisturized sand or soil. [65], In 1996 Tereshchenko reconstructed the walking model of Protoceratops where he considered the most likely scenario to be Protoceratops as an obligate quadruped given the proportions of its limbs. Like its larger and geologically younger relative Triceratops, this herbivore also had a bony . If trapped in a specific situation (like danger or foraging), Protoceratops could have employed a rapid, facultative bipedalism. As a last effort, the Protoceratops bit the right hand of the predator and trapped it beneath its own weight, causing the eventual death and desiccation of the Velociraptor. Protoceratops is a sheep-sized, herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia. [30] Norell and team in 2020 analyzed again this clutch and concluded that Protoceratops laid soft-shelled eggs. Protoceratopsidae is a family of basal (primitive) ceratopsians from the Late Cretaceous period. Later in 1923, W. K. Gregory and Walter Granger described the newly found species. As a whole, the skull had four pairs of fenestrae (skull openings). He concluded that nests were built in a shallow mound with the eggs laid radially, contrary to popular restorations of crater-like Protoceratops nests. Protoceratops was an early relative of the great horned dinosaurs, such as Triceratops . [18], Viktor Tereshchenko and Vladimir R. Alifanov in 2003 named a new protoceratopsid dinosaur from the Bayn Dzak locality, Bainoceratops efremovi . Protoceratops is one of the most common dinosaurs from its habitat and region which, along with its size, has given it the nickname "Sheep of the Cretaceous". Was a herbivore. [97] Dominant sediments at Djadokhta include dominant reddish-orange and pale orange to light gray, medium to fine-grained sands and sandstones, caliche, and sparse fluvial (river-deposited) processes. This elongation started from the first to the fourteenth caudal. [83], In 2016 Barsbold re-examined the Fighting Dinosaurs specimen and found several anomalies within the Protoceratops individual: both coracoids have small bone fragments indicatives of a breaking of the pectoral girdle; the right forelimb and scapulocoracoid are torn off to the left and backwards relative to its torso. Their neural spines were smaller than the first three vertebrae and the development of the capitular facet diminished from the fourth cervical onwards. In a top view they had a triangular shape and were joined by the frontals (bones of the skull roof). [9] In 1990 the Russian paleontologist Sergei Mikhailovich Kurzanov referred additional material from Hermiin Tsav to P. kozlowskii. A digging action with the hindlimbs was likely facilitated by the strong caudofemoralis muscle and its large feet equipped with flat, shovel-like unguals. Velociraptor, facts and photos. Most of them had differences in the same exact vertebra, such as the shape and proportions of the vertebral centra and orientation of neural arches. [5][46][47], The dorsal vertebrae were similar in shape and size. However, they suggested that authentic differences between sexes could be still present in the postcranial skeleton. Handa and team in addition found variation across this Udyn Sayr sample and classified them in three groups. Both dentary and maxillary teeth presented marked homodontya dental condition where the teeth share a similar shape and size. The sclerotic ring (structure that supports the eyeball), found inside the orbit, was circular in shape and formed by consecutive bony plates. Schmitz and Motani separated ecological and phylogenetic factors and by examining 164 living species and noticed that eye measurements are quite accurate when inferring diurnality, cathemerality, or nocturnality in extinct tetrapods. The large frill that skirts the skull of Protoceratops dinosaurs was more likely used as a signal to prospective mates - rather than for defense or cooling their bodies, a new study has suggested. These results suggest that they functioned as socio-sexual dominance signals, or, they were mostly used in display. Such scenario indicates a possible competition with the more predatory theropods over carcasses, however, as the animal tissue ingestion was occasional and not the bulk of their diet, the energy flow in ecosystems was relatively simple. They indicated that sexual dimorphism in this population was marked by a prominent nasal horn in malestrait also noted by other authorsrelative wider nostrils in females, and a wider neck frill in males. Protoceratops andrewsi. [69], Gregory and Mook in 1925 suggested that Protoceratops was partially aquatic because of its large feetbeing larger than the handsand the very long neural spines found in the caudal (tail) vertebrae. Named primarily as designation of a similar genus to Ceratops, meaning "before Ceratops", it is a genus considered on many platforms to be misclassified. 'first horned face') 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 . [6] Brown and Schlaikjer in 1940 and indicated that the expansion of the distal (lower) ischial end may reflect a strong ischiocaudalis muscle, which together with the high tail neural spines were used for swimming. An artist's rendition of a Protoceratops with a colorful neck frill. The first three fingers had unguals (claw bones) and were the largest digits. In the Cretaceous period (145 to 66 million years ago), this region . Stumper. [121], In 2010 the paleontologists Yukihide Matsumoto and Mototaka Saneyoshi reported multiple borings and bite traces on joint areas of articulated Bagaceratops and Protoceratops specimens from the Tugriken Shireh locality of the Djadokhta Formation and Hermiin Tsav locality of the Barun Goyot Formation, respectively. Makovicky and team also stated that as the maximum/radical changes on the neck frill and nasal horn were present in most adult individuals, trying to differentiate sexual dimorphism (anatomical differences between sexes) in adult Protoceratops may not be a good practice. The angular was located below the two latter bones and behind the dentary. It belonged to a group of dinosaurs called the Cerapoda. Protoceratops andrewsi is a fairly small and primitive ceratopsian, or horned dinosaur. [47] The fossilized footprint associated with the specimen ZPAL Mg D-II/3 described by Niedwiedzki in 2012 indicates that Protoceratops was digitigrade, meaning that it walked with its toes supporting the body weight. As some individuals are closely appressed along the well-defined margin of the nest, it may have had a circular or semi-circular shapeas previously hypothetizedwith a diameter of 70cm (700mm). It was characterized by simple fibrolamellar bonebony tissue with an irregular, fibrous texture and filled with blood vesselswith prominent woven-fibered bone and low bone remodeling. Fact or Fiction. a, b, Clutch assigned to the basal ceratopsian Protoceratops (a) on the basis of embryonic remains (b).The white outlined area in a corresponds to b; the arrow in b indicates one of the white, egg . [64], In 2018 paleontologists ucja Fostowicz-Frelik and Justyna Sowiak studied the bone histology of several specimens of P. andrewsi through cross-sections, in order to analyze the growth changes in this dinosaur. For instance, some specimens (e.g., holotype IMM 95BM1/1) preserve high nasal bones with a pair of horns; relatively short antorbital length; and vertically oriented nostrils. Norell and team performed histological examinations to its chemical composition, finding traces of proteinaceous eggshells, and when compared to other sauropsids the team concluded that they were not biomineralized in life and thus soft-shelled. ; Justina Machado as Zee: A striped polecat who was a former member of Buck's superhero team. Both predentary and dentary had a series of foramina (small pits), the latter mostly on its anterior end. It bore up to 12-14 alveoli on its top margin. Protoceratops is a special dinosaur because they had really large eyes. Like other ceratopsians, it had a rostral bone on the upper beak and a small frill around the . When the type fossil of Oviraptor was unearthed, in 1923, it was sitting atop a clutch of fossilized eggsprompting the theory that it had just raided a Protoceratops nest. Some elements were damaged in the process such as the rostrum. Este grupo de saurpsidos apareci hace 231 millones de aos durante el perodo Trisico, aunque su origen y su diversificacin es . Weighing up to 100 poundsabout the size of a wolf Velociraptors likely hunted solo as they roamed across central and eastern Asia in the late Cretaceous . Protoceratops was a small dinosaur that ate plants. Protoceratops (/protosrtps/; lit. The team also indicated that, while Protoceratops provides direct evidence for the formation of single cohort aggregations throughout its lifespan, it cannot be ruled out the possibility that some Protoceratops were solitary. Though more remains of Protoceratops were collected in later years of the expeditions, they were most abundant in the 1922 to 1925 seasons. The team stated that feeding by Velociraptor upon Protoceratops was probably a relatively common occurrence in these environments, and that this ceratopsian actively formed part of the diet of Velociraptor. [32], Jack Bowman Bailey in 1997 disagreed with previous aquatic hypotheses and indicated that the high caudal neural spines were instead more reminiscent of bulbous tails of some desert lizard species (such as Heloderma or Uromastyx), which are related to store fat with metabolic water in the tail. The team also find that the growth rate of the femur increased at the subadult stage, suggesting changes in bone proportions, such as the elongation of the hindlimbs. The last openings of the skull were two parietal fenestrae (holes in the frill). [33][34][35], During the Third Central Asiatic Expedition in 1923, a nearly complete Protoceratops skeleton (specimen AMNH 6418) was collected at the Flaming Cliffs. Whereas P. andrewsi is found in aeolian sediments (Bayn Dzak or Tugriken Shireh), P. hellenikorhinus is found in the aeolian-fluvial sediments. The chest cavity of Velociraptor MPC-D100/54. Prior to or during burial, some may have tried to climb on top of others. Protoceratops means 'first horned face' 2. In 2010, it was named by Alan L. Titus, Catherine A. Forster, Mark A. Loewen, Andrew A. Farke, Scott D. Sampson, Joshua A. Smith, and Eric M. Roberts. It appears that Protoceratops may have frequently been hunted by Velociraptor, as a spectacular fossil was discovered showing the two animals locked in combat before death. The difference in morphologies between Protoceratops also suggests that the nearby Bayan Mandahu Formation is slightly younger than the Djadokhta Formation. Additionally, Longrich suggested that a backward burrowing could explain the preservation of some specimens pointing forward with curved tails. Though a drowning scenario has been proposed by Barsbold,[32] such hypothesis is considered unlikely given the arid paleoenvironments or settings of the Djadokhta Formation. [122] These specimens were formally described and discussed in 2011 by Saneyoshi and team, including fossils from Velociraptor and an ankylosaurid. Its name means "ornate horned face" - so named because of all of the horns it contained on its head and face. Coahuilaceratops (meaning "Coahuila horn face") is a genus of ceratopsian dinosaur which lived in what is now Mexico. hellenikorhinus. Hone and colleagues in particular suggested that juveniles would aggregate primarily as a defense against predators and an increased protection from the multiple adults within the group. [22] The authors Brenda J. Chinnery and Jhon R. Horner in 2007 during their description of Cerasinops stated that Bainoceratops, along with other dubious genera, was determined to be either a variant or immature specimen of other genera. However, the discovery of Protoceratops' eggs fossilised in sandy pits in desert areas of China and Mongolia proved that theory wrong. It had an elongated shaft with a somewhat wide lower end. The centra were mainly opisthocoelous (concave on the posterior facet and convex on the anterior one) and their size became smaller towards the end. The specimen hails from the Udyn Sayr locality, where Protoceratops remains are dominant, and given the lack of more conclusive anatomical traits, Czepiski assigned the specimen as Bagaceratops sp. 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It was a common dinosaur from Cretaceous Mongolia. Under this reasoning, Protoceratopsidae consists of Bagaceratops, Breviceratops, and Protoceratops. This find proved that the nest AMNH 6508 belonged to Oviraptor and rather than an egg-thief, the holotype was actually a mature individual that perished brooding the eggs. The Gobi is now a desert. The Protoceratops bit the right hand of the predator, implying that it was unable to escape. Protoceratops were small ceratopsians, up to 22.5m (6.68.2ft) long and around 62104kg (137229lb) in body mass. The large number of vertebrate fossils found have enabled scientists to build up a detailed knowledge of the ecosystem, an ecosystem dominated by dinosaurs but one that shows the rise and diversity of mammals as well. The forelimbs had five fingers of which only the first three bore wide and flat unguals. The lacrimal was a near-rectangular bone located in front of the orbit, contributing to the shape of the latter. For instance, the block of four juveniles preserves the individuals with near-identical postures, spatial positions, and all of them have their heads facing upwards, which indicates that they were alive at the time of burial. The palpebral (small spur-like bone) joined the prefrontal over the front of the orbit (eye socket). [27] Moreover, phylogenetic analyses published in 2008 by Darla K. Zelenitsky and Franois Therrien have shown that Protoceratopsidovum represents the eggs of a maniraptoran more derived than oviraptorids and not Protoceratops. Protoceratops Pronunciation: pro-toe-ker-ah-tops Name meaning: 'first horned face' Type of dinosaur: ceratopsian Length: 1.8m Weight: 400kg. It lived in the Cretaceous period and inhabited Asia. Protoceratops, pronounced pro-to-SER-uh-TOPS, (GreekFirst Horned Face) was a small prehistoric ceratopsian dinosaur of the ornithischian order that existed in the Late Cretaceous Period. After burial, either Protoceratops herd or scavengers tore off the buried Protoceratops to the left and backwards, making both predator and prey to be slightly separated. The geometrics showed no consistent morphological differences between specimens that were regarded as males and females by previous authors, but also a slight support for differences in the rostrum across the sample. [77], In 2016 Hone and colleagues analyzed 37 skulls of P. andrewsi, finding that the neck frill of Protoceratops (in both length and width) underwent positive allometry during ontongeny, that is, a faster growth/development of this region than the rest of the animal. The frill was likely used for display or intraspecific combat, as well as protection of the neck and anchoring of jaw muscles. Frambenen var ungefr 30% kortare n bakbenen, [ 3] vilket . 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 .