Archaeoceratops

Reconstruction of archaeoceratops

• China

• A. oshimai Dong & Azuma, 1997

Archaeoceratops is a genus of bird Beck dinosaur ( Ornithischia ) from the group of ceratopsians. He is one of the urtümlicheren representatives of this group.

Features

Archaeoceratops was a small, only about 1.3 meter long dinosaur. As with many primitive Ceratopsiern the forelimbs were much shorter than the hind legs and then moving this dinosaur probably mostly bipedal ( biped ) away.

The skull is compared with the body very large, the neck shield formed of parietal and squamosal, however, relatively small. As with all Ceratopsiern was on the front part of the upper jaw a Rostralknochen available, it was pointed forward and formed with the also pointed Praedentale (at the tip of the lower jaw ) which is typical for this group of dinosaurs parrot -like snout. A primordial feature is that teeth were present on the premaxillary bone in the upper jaw still, these were simply built and pin. The underlying teeth wore a leaf-shaped crown, and were adapted to a plant-based diet.

Discovery and designation

The fossil remains of archaeoceratops were discovered in the Xinminbao group in the Chinese province of Gansu and first described in 1997 by Dong and Azuma. The name comes from the Greek words archaios ( = " old " ) and keratops ( = " horn face" ), a common name component of the ceratopsians, and playing on the pristine character of this dinosaur. The only described species and therefore type species is A. oshimai. The finds are dated to the Early Cretaceous ( Aptian ) at an age 126-113 million years.

System

Archaeoceratops is incorporated within the Ceratopsia in the Neoceratopsia. When it was first described it was considered as representative of the urtümlichster Neoceratopsia and as a sister group of all other dinosaurs in this group. In the meantime, have been discovered with Liaoceratops, Yamaceratops and other more basal Neoceratopsia who may be primitive. Apart from some controversial genera archaeoceratops is one of the oldest known representative of this otherwise known mainly from the Upper Cretaceous dinosaur group dar.