Protoceratops

## *Protoceratops andrewsi*

★☆☆☆☆

* Gobi
* Tumbleweed
* Fractal

## Diet

 Plants Insects

> *"Meet Protoceratops! One of the smallest known ceratopsians, this feisty herbivore lacks the distinctive facial horns of larger relatives."*
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*Protoceratops* is a small ceratopsian that lived in Asia during the Cretaceous. *Protoceratops* is represented by the species *P. andrewsi* in Prehistoric Kingdom.

## In-Game

### Description

*Protoceratops andrewsi* is a small herbivorous ceratopsian associated from the hot and sandy Djadokhta formation in Mongolia. It was the fourth announced ceratopsian to appear in Early Access and is a staple animal of the early game. It is depicted with a row of spines or quills along its back which lengthen into a fan along the tail, somewhat in imitation of what was found for a specimen of the related animal *Psittacosaurus*.

### In-Game Trivia

"*Protoceratops! This animal is one of the smaller species of ceratopsians, living alongside deadly neighbors like the* *Velociraptor."*

"*Thankfully, this little critter is surprisingly speedy! Compared to its larger cousins, the foot structure and limb proportions of Protoceratops are much better adapted to running. I guess that's important if you're trying to avoid ‘Speedy Thieves’ like Velociraptor!*"

"*Oddly enough, this animal lacks a lot of the more complex facial features seen in larger family members, like a certain three-horned celebrity.*"

"*One famous fossil preserves a Protoceratops and a Velociraptor locked in battle. Hmm, I know that look in your eye: I don't care if it's 'in the name of science', don't put the two species together! We don't need to deal with ANOTHER ethics violation…*"

## Paleontology

As a member of Marginocephalia, *Protoceratops* is related to ceratopsians such as Styracosaurus and Triceratops, as well as pachycephalosaurs like Prenocephale. It is a basal member of the ceratopsian clade, making it one of the earliest members of the group, along with *Psittacosaurus*. Unlike *Psittacosaurus*, *Protoceratops* was too front heavy for bipedal locomotion, and walked on all fours as an adult.

While *Protoceratops* lacks the famous horns that more advanced relatives had, it still shared a lot of features with other ceratopsians, such as a frill. This frill may have been brightly colored, and used as a display structure to attract mates or chase off rivals.

*Protoceratops* is a common find in the Flaming Cliffs formation, which it shared with other dinosaurs like Velociraptor and Oviraptor. It appears that it may have been hunted by Velociraptor, as a spectacular fossil was discovered showing the two animals locked in combat before death.

Protoceratops was discovered in 1922, during an American expedition searching for the ancestry of central Asian people and its name means "first horned face".

## Gallery

* Photos
* Renders
* Animations
* Concept Art

A Protoceratops swiming; a behavior added in Update 9.A Protoceratops next to a rock.

Website Render.Outdated Protoceratops profile.

Protoceratops Walk Animation.Protoceratops Run Animation

Concept art of Protoceratops.

## Trivia

* *Protoceratops* is well known for having lived alongside *Velociraptor*, and a fossil was even found of the two animals fighting.

* *Protoceratops* got its redesign revealed to the public in the 2021 January Devlog as one of the many Early Access animals to appear.
* *Protoceratops* is one of the many Asian dinosaurs to appear in Prehistoric Kingdom, along with *Deinocheirus*, *Velociraptor*, *Tarbosaurus*, and *Gallimimus*.