Helioceratops
Name:
Helioceratops
(Sun horned face).
Phonetic: Hel-ee-oh-seh-rah-tops.
Named By: Jin Liyong, Chen Jun, Zan Shuqin
& Pascal Godefroit - 2009.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Ornithischia Ceratopsia.
Species: H. brachygnathus
(type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: 1.3 meters long.
Known locations: China, Jilin Province -
Quantou Formation.
Time period: Aptian to Cenomanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Maxilla and mandible (lower
jaw).
Although very little fossil material has been found, Helioceratops has been identified as a basal (or primitive) form of ceratopsian dinosaur. This means that it is unlikely that Helioceratops sported the elaborate frill and horns of the larger quadrupedal ceratopsians that most people know. Although primitive, Helioceratops seems to have had a body plan that would survive until the end of the age of dinosaurs in other ceratopsian genera such as Leptoceratops and Montanaceratops.
Further reading
- A new basal neoceratopsian dinosaur from the middle Cretaceous of
Jilin Province, China. - Acta Geologica Sinica 83(2):200-206. - L. Jin,
J. Chen, S. Zan & P. Godefroit - 2009.
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