Protoceratops

Credit: Jack Wood.

*Protoceratops* is an extinct genus of ceratopsian that lived during the Late Cretaceous in Mongolia.

## Description

*Protoceratops* is often depicted fighting packs of hungry *Velociraptors*. *Protoceratops* had a large bony skull with a bump on it snout, a sharp beak and a protective frill. *Protoceratops* lacks the horns that future ceratopsians have, like *Triceratops*, *Protoceratops* had a short, blunt nose horn. *Protoceratops* likely lived in small family groups. *Protoceratops* may have had a small tuft of feathers on its tail like *Psittacosaurus*.

A large concentration of *Protoceratops* fossils originate in herds, and many life stages are represented through fossil specimens. The animal started as small hatchlings, with bulbous noses and blunt frills. Compared to adults, juveniles had considerably larger eyes, thinner bodies, and were overall smaller. Adult *Protoceratops* had wide frills, which may have been used to impress females, or to anchor thick jaw muscles. The frill contained two large parietal fenestrae, and defined jugals sprouted from the cheeks. Some individuals' frills were small and compact, while others measured half their skulls length, showing that the frills were distinct per every animal. The frill itself is mostly formed from parietal bone and the squamosal. Some researchers consider the frill to be sexual dimorphism, also depending on age. *Protoceratops* was a small dinosaur, having a disproportionally large head. A large beak was capable of a powerful bite, which was likely a defense as seen in the dueling dinosaurs fossil, of a *Velociraptor* caught in the death grip of *Protoceratops*' beak. The jaws were packed with teeth, which mulched vegetation for digestion. The entire skull has four fenestrae, the closest being the naris, which is much smaller than the nostrils of genera to come later. Each eye orbit is 50 millimeters in diameter, with the infratemporal fenestra hidden behind them. Of all dinosaur fossils, *Protoceratops* is among the more abundant types.

## Paleobiology

### Integument

Specimen AMNH 6418 is a *Protoceratops* specimen found curled in a ball with its foot over the animals face. This specimen was brought into the spotlight on Twitter, where users contemplated whether the image shows skin impressions preserved over the fossils face, or if the material is matrix. The individual itself is a young-adult that preserves the skull, a partial torso, tail and incomplete legs. The describers were aware of the unique mass on the face, but brushed over the feature in a short paragraph, dismissing the plausibility of skin impressions. They describe the surface as thin, hard and wrinkled and as covering the frill, jaw and face and having a very skin-like appearance. They note it can not be determined 100% as skin, although the decomposing skin may have influenced the matrix. Decomposition may have caused the sediment to harden and indurate. Since then, most of the material has been prepared from the specimen, as paleontologists at that time disregarded anything but bone. In 2022, patches of the original soft tissue were confirmed to have not been fully destroyed during preparation.

## Gallery

*P. andrewsi* mount at the Royal Ontario Museum.
**Credit: Clumsystiggy on DeviantArt.***P. andrewsi* elements, including a juvenile element (1) and a juvenile *Bagaceratops* (2) at the Royal Ontario Museum.
**Credit: Clumsystiggy on DeviantArt.***P. hellenikorhinus* reconstruction.
**Credit: PaleoNeoloitic on the Wikimedia Commons.***P. andrewsi* reconstruction.
**Credit: PaleoNeoloitic on the Wikimedia Commons.**
## References

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protoceratops
2. ↑ The New Face of Protoceratops?
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/TylerGreenfieId/status/1605619708081819648