Protoceratops is largely known from both members, having P. andrewsi as a dominant and representative species in the overall formation. Protoceratops was an early relative of the great horned dinosaurs, such as Triceratops . Although it was not fully understood the conditions surrounding their burial, it was clear that they died simultaneously in struggle. The team indicated that it is very likely that these were made by scavenging insects, however, relatively large borings (about 3cm (30mm) wide) in the ribs and scapulae of one Protoceratops specimen (MPC-D100/534) indicates that insects were not the only scavengers involved in the bone damage, but also mammals. They found at least three types of feeding traces on this individual; nearly circular boringswhich they found instead to correlate best with feeding traces made by dermestid beetlesof 0.61cm (6.010.0mm) in diameter; semicircular shaped notches at the edge of bones; and destruction of articular surfaces, mostly at the joints of the limbs. 3. Chevrons three to nine were the largest and from the tenth onwards they became smaller. Protoceratops, (genus Protoceratops), ceratopsian dinosaur found as fossils in the Gobi Desert from 80-million-year-old deposits of the Late Cretaceous Period. Velociraptor, facts and photos. Maiorino and team nevertheless, cited that the typical regarded Protoceratops male, AMNH 6438, pretty much resembles the rostrum morphology of AMNH 6466, a typical regarded female. Since this event likely occurred after the death of both animals or during a point where movement was not possible, and the Protoceratops is missing other body elements, Barsbold suggested that scavengers were the most likely authors. The team indicated that both pupae and boring traces reflect a marked ecological relationship between dinosaur carcasses and a relatively large necrophagous insect taxon. [44], In 1991, the paleontologist Gregory S. Paul stated that contrary to the popular view of ornithischians as obligate herbivores, some groups may have been opportunistic meat-eaters, including the members of Ceratopsidae and Protoceratopsidae. Tena un tamao pequeo y un crneo grande. 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. However, it is now believed that they cathemeral. This genus was based on a few dorsal (back) vertebrae that were stated to differ from those of Protoceratops. [49], However, in 1975 Maryanska and Osmolska argued that it is very unlikely that protoceratopsids evolved from psittacosaurids, and also unlikely that they gave rise to the highly derived (advanced) ceratopsids. Protoceratops was a relatively small-sized ceratopsian, with both P. andrewsi and P. hellenikorhinus estimated up to 22.5m (6.68.2ft) in length,[41][42] and around 62104kg (137229lb) in body mass. Named primarily as designation of a similar genus to Ceratops, meaning "before Ceratops", it is a genus considered on many platforms to be misclassified. A group of five medium-sized and adult Protoceratops was observed at the Bayan Mandahu locality. [124], In 1993 the Folklorist and historian of science Adrienne Mayor of Stanford University suggested that the exquisitely preserved fossil skeletons of Protoceratops, Psittacosaurus and other beaked dinosaurs, found by ancient Scythian nomads who mined gold in the Tian Shan and Altai Mountains of Central Asia, may have been at the root of the image of the mythical creature known as the griffin. The humerus (upper arm bone) was large and slender, and at the lower part it meet with both radius and ulna. Most of the sacral ribs were fused into the sacrum, and had a rather curved shape. Given the dry/harsh paleoenvironmental conditions of units like the Djadokhta Formation, medium to large-sized dinosaur carcasses may have been an important source of nutrition for small animals. Such placement of the muscles may have helped to anchor the lower jaws, useful for feeding. He suggested that the large neck frill was likely an attachment site for masticatory muscles. With their "Properly Breathing House" in a suburban area just 15 kilometers from the center of Hanoi, Vietnamese architecture firm H&P Architects . Protoceratops were hunted by Velociraptor, and one particularly famous specimen (the Fighting Dinosaurs) preserves a pair of them locked in combat. [5] In 2001 Lambert and colleagues considered the development of the two nasal "horns" of P. hellenikorhinus to be a trait that was delayed in relation to the appearance of sexual-discriminant traits. Sinoceratops is a very significant centrosaur because not only it is the first ceratopsid to be ever discovered in China, but it is also one of the largest centrosaurines ever discovered. During late 1922 the expedition explored the famous Flaming Cliffs of the Shabarakh Usu region of the Djadokhta Formation, Gobi Desert, now known as the Bayn Dzak region. While Oviraptor and Protoceratops did coexist in late Cretaceous central Asia, it turns out that this supposed "egg thief" got a bad rapit was . However, Barsbold pointed out that there no related traces within the overall specimen in order to support this latter interpretation. [3] In the same year, Granger and William K. Gregory formally described the new genus and species Protoceratops andrewsi based on the holotype skull. They identified this embryo as an oviraptorid dinosaur and the eggshell, upon close examination, turned out be that of elongatoolithid eggs and thereby the oofamily Elongatoolithidae was concluded to represent the eggs of oviraptorids. In this formation, P. hellenikorhinus is the representative species, and it shared its paleoenvironment with numerous dinosaurs such as dromaeosaurids Linheraptor and Velociraptor osmolskae;[87][88] oviraptorids Machairasaurus and Wulatelong;[55][89] and troodontids Linhevenator, Papiliovenator, and Philovenator. It was a large and somewhat rounded bone that complemented the curvature of the dentary. Reported traces were identified as pits, notches, borings, and channels across the skeletons, most notably at limb joint areas. [15] Though Breviceratops has been regarded as a synonym and juvenile stage of Bagaceratops,[16][17] ukasz Czepiski in 2019 concluded that the former has enough anatomical differences to be considered as a separate taxon. 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. Given that soft-shelled eggs are more vulnerable to deshydratation and crushing, Protoceratops may have buried its eggs in moisturized sand or soil. [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. Protoceratops is a common find in the Flaming Cliffs formation, which it shared with other Dinosaurs like Velociraptor and Oviraptor. Protoceratops, meaning "First-Horned Face" is a ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous, 75 million years ago. Protoceratops means 'first horned face' 2. They laid soft-shelled eggs, a rare occurrence in dinosaurs. Protoceratops cf. [30] Norell and team in 2020 analyzed again this clutch and concluded that Protoceratops laid soft-shelled eggs. During maturation, the skull and neck frill underwent rapid growth. According to Tereschenko, Bagaceratops was fully aquatic while Protoceratops was only partially aquatic. Like other ceratops, lived in a terrestrial habitat. Furthermore, Coombs considered the large concentration of Protoceratops eggs at small regions as an indicator of marked philopatric nesting (nesting in the same area). [19] Both species can be differentiated by the following characteristics: The skull of Protoceratops was relatively large compared to its body and robustly built. ; Utkarsh Ambudkar as Orson: A humanoid supremacist Protoceratops with a bulging brain who wants to take control of the Lost World. [97][99] The Bayn Dzak member (mostly the Bayn Dzak locality) has yielded the dromaeosaurids Halszkaraptor and Velociraptor mongoliensis;[101][102] oviraptorid Oviraptor;[3] ankylosaurid Pinacosaurus grangeri;[93] and troodontid Saurornithoides. At least two individuals within this block are preserved with their arms at a level above the legs, suggestive of attempts of trying to move upwards with the purpose of free themselves. They had a prominent parrot-like beak at the tip of the jaws. The first three fingers had unguals (claw bones) and were the largest digits. These areas of land are flat spaces that easily fill up with water when the rivers overflow and are dry when they don't. They're made of rocks, soil, and sand deposited by the river's flooding. The specific name, hellenikorhinus, is derived from Greek hellenikos (meaning Greek) and rhis (meaning nose) in reference to its broad and angular snout, which is reminiscent of the straight profiles of Greek sculptures. [68], In 2019 Victoria M. Arbour and David C. Evans cited the robusticity of the ulna of Ferrisaurus as a useful feature for digging, which may have been also true for Protoceratops. According these differences, four groups were identified, concluding that individual variation was extended to the vertebral column of Protoceratops. Mesopic (cathemeral) animalswhich are irregularly active throughout the day and nightare between these two ranges. The Wild Past Protoceratops w/ Nest with the Safari Ltd. Feathered Dinosaurs Toob version. The average weight of the dinosaur was 400kg (900 pounds) 4. [12], Hone and colleagues in 2014 indicated that two assemblages of Protoceratops at Tugriken Shireh (MPC-D 100/526 and 100/534) suggest that individuals died simultaneously, rather than accumulating over time. Later members, including ceratopsids like Centrosaurus and Triceratops, became very large quadrupeds and . The forelimbs had five fingers of which only the first three bore wide and flat unguals. A dinosaur habitat right next to rivers are floodplains. He considered a swimming adaptation unlikely given the arid settings of the Djadokhta Formation. Each egg was elongated and hard-shelled, and due to the proximity and high abundance of Protoceratops in the formation, these eggs were believed at the time to belong to this dinosaur. 6. Dinosaurios. [53], In 2019 Czepiski analyzed a vast majority of referred specimens to the ceratopsians Bagaceratops and Breviceratops, and concluded that most were in fact specimens of the former. [126], Mayor in 2001 and 2011 defended the hypothesis of Protoceratops as an influence over the griffin by citing that some other Greek histories about mythological creatures may have had their origins at the hands of fossil findings made by ancient people. Since Protoceratops was more primitive than any other known ceratopsian at that time, Granger and Gregory coined the new family Protoceratopsidae, mostly characterized by the lack of horns. [13], In 2016 Meguru Takeuchi and team reported numerous fossilized feeding traces preserved on skeletons of Protoceratops from the Bayn Dzak, Tugriken Shireh, and Udyn Sayr localities, and also from other dinosaurs. [82], In 2010 David Hone with team reported a new interaction between Velociraptor and Protoceratops based on tooth marks. hellenikorhinus. [113] In the Turgrugyin Member (mainly Tugriken Shireh locality), P. andrewsi shared its paleoenvironment with the bird Elsornis;[114] dromaeosaurids Mahakala and Velociraptor mongoliensis;[101][115] and ornithomimid Aepyornithomimus. The centra (centrum; body of the vertebrae) of the first three cervicals were coossified together (atlas, axis and third cervical respectively) creating a rigid structure. Most embryos within this clutch have a flexed position and the outlines of eggs are also present, suggesting that they were buried in ovo (in the egg). [75], In 2012 Naoto Handa and colleagues described four specimens of P. andrewsi from the Udyn Sayr locality of the Djadokhta Formation. The surangular was near triangular in shape and in old individuals it was coossified together with the coronoid process. As Protoceratops was a relatively basal (primitive) ceratopsian, the finding may imply that other ceratopsians provided care for their young as well. [2][5], After spending much of 1924 making plans for the next fieldwork seasons, in 1925 Andrews and team explored the Flaming Cliffs yet again. The flexed position of most buried Protoceratops is indicative of desiccation and shrinking of ligaments/tendons in the legs, necks, and tails after death. It shared it's habitat with other dinosaurs like Therizinosaurus and Velociraptor. They also considered possible that populations of Velociraptor were aware of crouching behaviors in Protoceratops during high-energy sandstorms and used it for successful hunts. [54], Tomasz Jerzykiewiczz in 1993 reported several monospecific (containing only one dominant species) death assemblages of Protoceratops from the Bayan Mandahu and Djadokhta formations. [24][3] In 1975, the Chinese paleontologist Zhao Zikui named the new oogenera Elongatoolithus and Macroolithus, including them in a new oofamily: the Elongatoolithidae. bored dinosaur skeletons and associated pupae from the Djadokhta Fm. Both predentary and dentary had a series of foramina (small pits), the latter mostly on its anterior end. The jaw morphology of Protoceratopsmore suitable for processing plant materialand its extreme abundance indicate it was not a predator, so if it was a diurnal animal, then it would have been expected to have a much smaller sclerotic ring size. 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. At least 8 body fossils of Protoceratops present active teeth marks, which were interpreted as feeding traces. The feet were wide and had four toes with flattened, shovel-like unguals, which would have been useful for digging through the sand. They had a short but powerful tail and walked on four thick legs weighing up to 11,000 kg (24,250 pounds) and could reach up to 9m (30 feet) in length and 3m (10 feet) in height. The most intimidating parts of the otherwise gentle Protoceratops were its teeth, beak and jaws, which this dinosaur used to clip, tear and chew the tough vegetation of its central Asian habitat. They lived during the Late Cretaceous period 75-71 million years ago. [11], Fastovsky in 1997 examined the geology at Tugriken Shireh providing insights into the taphonomy of Protoceratops. The forelimbs of Protoceratops could sprawl laterally but not for quadrupedal locomotion, which was accomplished with the elbows tucked in. (plus 4 other paragraphs) Animal Characteristics: Habitat: Desert; Location: Asia; Era: Cretaceous Minimum happiness needed for chance of breeding: 95. To accommodate this equipment, the skull of Protoceratops was almost comically large compared to the rest of its body, giving it a distinctly "top . The absence of these traits in mature individuals indicates that young Protoceratops were capable of facultative bipedal locomotion and adults had an obligate quadrupedal stance. The ulna was a rather short bone with a straight shape. The examined pupae from the specimen are more cylindrical structures with rounded ends. The forward facing and closely located orbits combined with a narrow snout, gave Protoceratops a well-developed binocular vision. [36], Also from the context of the Polish-Mongolian paleontological expeditions, in 1965 an articulated subadult Protoceratops skeleton (specimen ZPAL Mg D-II/3) was collected from the Bayn Dzak locality of the Djadokhta Formation. Under this reasoning, Protoceratopsidae consists of Bagaceratops, Breviceratops, and Protoceratops. The tail may have been related with structures like the frill for displaying behavior. . Such traits were regarded as representing male P. hellenikorhinus. He considered unlikely such interpretation based on the relative fragility of some frill bones and the large individual variation, which may have affected the development of those muscles. Their neural spines were smaller than the first three vertebrae and the development of the capitular facet diminished from the fourth cervical onwards. Diabloceratops (/ d a b l o s r t p s / dy-AB-loh-SERR--tops) is an extinct genus of centrosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur that lived approximately 81.4-81 million years ago during the latter part of the Cretaceous Period in what is now Utah, in the United States. The Velociraptor has its right hand trapped within the jaws of the Protoceratops and the left one grasping the Protoceratops skull. The angular was located below the two latter bones and behind the dentary. [80] Richard A. Thulborn in 1992 analyzed the different types of eggs and neststhe majority of them, in fact, elongatoolithidreferred to Protoceratops and their structure. [19] Also in 2001, Tereschhenko analized several specimens of P. andrewsi in order to evaluate sexual dimorphism. However, such strategies are most effective when the taxon is rare in the overall environment, opposed to Protoceratops which appears to be an extremely abundant and medium-sized dinosaur. [62], David Hone and colleagues in 2016 upon their analysis of P. andrewsi neck frills, found that the frill of Protoceratops was disproportionally smaller in juveniles, grew at a rapid rate than the rest of the animal during its ontogeny, and reached a considerable size only in large adult individuals. 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