Leptoceratops

Live reconstruction of Leptoceratops

• North America

• L. gracilis Brown, 1914

Leptoceratops is a genus of bird Beck dinosaur ( Ornithischia ) from the group of ceratopsians, within which he is expected to Leptoceratopsidae.

Features

Leptoceratops was a small, nimble dinosaurs, which reached a length of 1.2 to 2.7 meters. The skull was large and heavy, but unlike later ceratopsians did not wear horns. As with most higher Ceratopsia was formed from the parietal and squamosal neck shield, this has been relatively flat and small. The beak was pointed, adapted teeth like all ceratopsians for a plant-based diet. The front legs were very short, this dinosaur is likely to have moved mostly biped (only on the hind legs ).

Discovery and designation

The fossil remains of Leptoceratops come from North America and were first described in 1914 by Barnum Brown. Discoveries were made in Alberta ( Canada ), and Wyoming and Montana (USA). So far, three known complete skull, two partially preserved skull and parts of the body skeleton. The name derives from the Greek words leptos ( = " thin" ) and keratops ( = " horn face" ), a common name component of the ceratopsians, from. Type species and only recognized species is Leptoceratops gracilis.

The finds are dated to the late Cretaceous (Upper Maastrichtian ) in age 69-66 million years.

System

Originally Leptoceratops was incorporated in the Protoceratopsidae, but today he is regarded as a name of Leptoceratopsidae, a limited primarily or exclusively on North America group of ceratopsians.