Udanoceratops
Encyclopedia
Udanoceratops is a genus
of ceratopsia
n dinosaur
. It lived during the Late Cretaceous
Period in the late Santonian
or early Campanian
faunal stage
s. Its fossils were found in Mongolia
.
Udanoceratops was first described by Kurzanov in 1992, from a large skull, which was 60 centimeters long (24 in) and moderately well preserved. It appears to be the largest bipedal neoceratopsian found to date. The skull has very little horn or frill and the animal is estimated at about 4 meters long (13 ft). The type species
is U. tschizhovi.
meaning 'horned face'), a group of herbivorous dinosaurs with parrot
-like beaks which thrived in North America
and Asia
during the Cretaceous
Period. Within the order, Chinnery places it within the Leptoceratopsidae
, as the only Asian representative, along with the North American Leptoceratops
, Montanoceratops
and Prenoceratops
.
. During the Cretaceous, flowering plants were "geographically limited on the landscape", so it is likely that this dinosaur fed on the predominant plants of the era: fern
s, cycad
s and conifers. It would have used its sharp ceratopsian beak to bite off the leaves or needles.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of ceratopsia
Ceratopsia
Ceratopsia or Ceratopia is a group of herbivorous, beaked dinosaurs which thrived in what are now North America, Europe, and Asia, during the Cretaceous Period, although ancestral forms lived earlier, in the Jurassic. The earliest known ceratopsian, Yinlong downsi, lived between 161.2 and 155.7...
n dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
. It lived during the Late Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
Period in the late Santonian
Santonian
The Santonian is an age in the geologic timescale or a chronostratigraphic stage. It is a subdivision of the Late Cretaceous epoch or Upper Cretaceous series. It spans the time between 85.8 ± 0.7 mya and 83.5 ± 0.7 mya...
or early Campanian
Campanian
The Campanian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous epoch . The Campanian spans the time from 83.5 ± 0.7 Ma to 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma ...
faunal stage
Faunal stage
In chronostratigraphy, a stage is a succession of rock strata laid down in a single age on the geologic timescale, which usually represents millions of years of deposition. A given stage of rock and the corresponding age of time will by convention have the same name, and the same boundaries.Rock...
s. Its fossils were found in Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
.
Discovery and Species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
is U. tschizhovi.
Classification
Udanoceratops belonged to the Ceratopsia (the name is derived GreekAncient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
meaning 'horned face'), a group of herbivorous dinosaurs with parrot
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
-like beaks which thrived in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
during the Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
Period. Within the order, Chinnery places it within the Leptoceratopsidae
Leptoceratopsidae
The family Leptoceratopsidae, its name derived from the type genus Leptoceratops, is a group of several small neoceratopsian genera which appear not to belong to the clade Protoceratopsidae. They resembled, and were closely related to, other ceratopsids, but all discovered species are generally...
, as the only Asian representative, along with the North American Leptoceratops
Leptoceratops
Leptoceratops , was a primitive ceratopsian dinosaur genus from the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now Western North America, at the same time as its giant...
, Montanoceratops
Montanoceratops
Montanoceratops was a genus of small ceratopsian dinosaur. It lived during the early Maastrichtian of the late Cretaceous Period...
and Prenoceratops
Prenoceratops
Prenoceratops, is a genus of ceratopsian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period. Its fossils have been found in the Two Medicine Formation in the present-day U.S. state of Montana...
.
Diet
Udanoceratops, like all ceratopsians, was a herbivoreHerbivore
Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...
. During the Cretaceous, flowering plants were "geographically limited on the landscape", so it is likely that this dinosaur fed on the predominant plants of the era: fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s, cycad
Cycad
Cycads are seed plants typically characterized by a stout and woody trunk with a crown of large, hard and stiff, evergreen leaves. They usually have pinnate leaves. The individual plants are either all male or all female . Cycads vary in size from having a trunk that is only a few centimeters...
s and conifers. It would have used its sharp ceratopsian beak to bite off the leaves or needles.
External links
- http://www.thescelosaurus.com/ceratopsia.htm
- Udanoceratops in the Dino Directory