Microceratus (meaning "small-horned") is a genus of small ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in the Cretaceous period in Asia. It walked on two legs, had short front arms, a characteristic ceratopsian frill and beak-like mouth, and was around 60 cm (2.0 ft) long.[1] It was one of the first ceratopsians, or horned dinosaurs, along with Psittacosaurus in Mongolia.

Microceratus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 90 Ma
Life restoration
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Ornithischia
Clade: Neornithischia
Clade: Ceratopsia
Clade: Neoceratopsia
Genus: Microceratus
Mateus, 2008
Species:
M. gobiensis
Binomial name
Microceratus gobiensis
(Bohlin, 1953)
Other species
  • M. sulcidens? Bohlin, 1953
Synonyms

Microceratops Bohlin, 1953 (preoccupied by Seyrig, 1952)

Discovery

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The type species, Microceratops gobiensis, was first described by Bohlin in 1953, and so was the second species, M. sulcidens, which may belong to Asiaceratops instead.[2] However, the generic name was already preoccupied by an ichneumon wasp (subfamily Cryptinae) with the same name. Though much of the material has since been reassigned to the genus Graciliceratops, a replacement name Microceratus was created by Mateus in 2008 for the type specimen.[3]

Classification

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Microceratus belonged to the Ceratopsia (Ancient Greek for "horned face"), a group of herbivorous dinosaurs with parrot-like beaks which thrived in North America and Asia during the Cretaceous Period,[4] which ended roughly 66 million years ago. All ceratopsians became extinct at the end of this era.

Diet

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Microceratus, like all ceratopsians, was a herbivore. During the Cretaceous, flowering plants were "geographically limited on the landscape", and so it is likely that this dinosaur fed on the predominant plants of the era: ferns, cycads and conifers. It would have used its sharp ceratopsian beak to bite off the leaves or needles.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2012). Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages (PDF). Winter 2011 Appendix
  2. ^ Bohlin, B. (1953). Fossil reptiles from Mongolia and Kansu. Reports from the Scientific Expedition to the North-western Provinces of China under Leadership of Dr. Sven Hedin. VI. Vertebrate Palaeontology 6. The Sino-Swedish Expedition Publications 37, 113 pp
  3. ^ Mateus, O (2008). "Two ornithischian dinosaurs renamed: Microceratops Bohlin 1953 and Diceratops Lull 1905". Journal of Paleontology. 82 (2): 423. doi:10.1666/07-069.1. S2CID 86021954.
  4. ^ Barry Cox, Colin Harrison, R.J.G. Savage, and Brian Gardiner. (1999): The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures: A Visual Who's Who of Prehistoric Life. pg. 162 Simon & Schuster.
  5. ^ David Norman. (2001): The Big Book Of Dinosaurs. pg. 317, 318, 319 and 326, Walcome books.