PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
The protoceratops was one of the smaller dinosaurs. They were about 3 feet tall and roughly 7 feet wide. They walked on four legs, which were all the same size. They had frills at the back of their neck. The protoceratops was a roughly light dinosaur at around 900 pounds. The neck of a protoceratops was much like that of a turtle. They were roughly the size of a common sheep. The frills on the neck of a protoceratops male was longer than that of a female.
LIFESTYLE
The protoceratops was a plant eating animal. They would associate in packs. Without being in a pack the protoceratops would be a very easy target for larger carnivores. The primary defense that this animal had was its sharp beak. The frills on the back of the protoceratop’s neck was probably used for mating. They would lay eggs in the sand near a pond. The main predator of protoceratops was most likely a velociraptor.
PROTOCERATOPS HISTORY
The protoceratops lived in the late cretaceous period, about 80 million years ago. Fossils have been found in Mongolia, and that is were most protoceratops were said to have lived.
DID YOU KNOW?
There was a fossil found in Mongolia of a protoceratops and a velociraptor fighting.
In early times, a skull of a protoceratops lead natives to believe that it was the head of a mythical creature, such as a griffin.
CLASSIFICATION
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Sauropsida
- Order: Ornithiscia
- Family: Protoceratopsidae
- Genus: Protoceratops
- Species: P. Andrewsi