Protoceratops andrewsi skull

"First Horned Face"

(pronounced PRO-toh-SER-ah-tops)
TYPE SPECIES: P. andrewsi, Granger & Gregory, 1923
OTHER SPECIES: none
SYNONYMS: none
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CLASSIFICATION:
Ornithodira
Dinosauria
Ornithischia
Marginocephalia
Ceratopsia
Coronosauria


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LENGTH: 1.8-3 meters (6-10 feet)

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TIME PERIOD: Santonian to Campanian (Late Cretaceous)

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LOCATION: China and Mongolia

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ABOUT: A very well-known early ceratopsian. Protoceratops has been found to be a popular prey to Velociraptor, as the "Fighting Dinosaurs" fossil shows. The two skeletons, one of the Protoceratops and the other of the Velociraptor were apparently fighting when a sand dune collapsed upon them. Also, Protoceratops has two forms, a male (robust) and a female (gracile). The male had a larger frill and a small hornlike bump on the nasals.