Fossil protoceratopsid dinosaur
Place Collected(Object)
: Asia, Mongolia, Shabarakh Usu Date: Date Collected: 1921
Dimensions:length=150; width=69; height=54 cm
Taxonomy
- Attributes
- Objects
- Taxonomy
- Kingdom:
Animalia
- Phylum:
Chordata
- Class:
Reptilia
- Order:
Ornithischia
- Family:
Protoceratopsidae
- Genus:
Protoceratops
- SpecificEpithet:
andrewsi
Object number: ROMVP11684
Credit Line: Purchased in 1967 with funds collected by the school children of Ontario
Gallery Location:James and Louise Temerty Galleries of the Age of Dinosaurs, Life on Land Cretaceous, Pachy and Proto, Protoceratops Mount
DescriptionA relative of the horned dinosaurs, Protoceratops andrewsi lived about 90 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period. Unlike the larger horns of later ceratopsians such as the Triceratops, this species had small bumps opposed to true horns. This particular specimen is just under 2-metres in length, and It has a small frill to which the powerful jaw muscles were attached. Protoceratops skeletons are abundant in Mongolia suggesting that they thrived in the semi-arid conditions of the time. Their skeletons are often discovered in groupings and nests providing evidence that Protoceratops lived in herds.
