In Depth Initially named in 1918, Notoceratops may not only be the first ceratopsian dinosaur named from South America, but all of Gondwana, the southern collection of landmasses that split from the Northern continents during the Mesozoic. Not everyone was initially convinced however, and even to this day some still question the validity of Notoceratops … Read more
In Depth Not a lot has been recovered for this dinosaur, but what we do have for Chaoyangsaurus allows us to identify this as a small ceratopsian dinosaur, What is really significant about this is that Chaoyangsaurus lived during the late Jurassic, which indicates to us that the ceratopsian dinosaurs that would be among the … Read more
In Depth Xuanhuaceratops represents the early ceratopsian form that was a small probably bipedal dinosaur that had developed the sharp cropping beak as well as the rudimentary beginnnings of the neck frill that would become so characteristic of the ceratopsians. Because of its small size Xuanhuaceratops probably had to rely upon speed and agility to … Read more
In Depth A very interesting find, Yinlong represents the earliest identifiable ceratopsian dinosaur. Despite its small size and bipedal stance, the descendants of Yinlong would evolve into the huge quadrupedal herbivores like Triceratops that lived at the end of the Cretaceous. Study of the skull has revealed a small rostral bone, or more commonly called … Read more
In Depth Very little is known about Asiaceratops because the currently known fossils of this dinosaur are so fragmentary that some researchers have even questioned the validity of the genus. Further Reading - [Mesozoic ceratopsian dinosaurs and crocodiles of central Asia]. In: Bogdanova and Khozatskii (eds.), Theoretical and Applied Aspects of Modern Palaeontology pp 144-154. … Read more
In Depth Avaceratops was a relatively small ceratopsian dinosaur from the late Cretaceous of North America. What makes its classification difficult however is the fact that its neck frill is short and lacks any fenestrae (openings), and with the exception of others like Triceratops, ceratopsians can usually be divided into either centrosaurine or chasmosaurine groups, … Read more
In Depth A very interesting discovery, Wendiceratops has been identified as one of the oldest centrosaurine ceratopsian dinosaurs so far discovered. At the time of writing only Xenoceratops and Diabloceratops are known to have been older. So far much of what we know about Wendiceratops has been pieced together by fragmentary and partial remains, but … Read more