Dino card No. 1485 of 2,027

Protoceratops

Say it: proh-toh-SER-ah-tops

Name means: “first horned face”1

Ate: PlantsHorned dinosEarly Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous

Protoceratops was a small, plant-eating dinosaur that lived in the Gobi Desert about 80 million years ago. It had a parrot-like beak and a bony frill on its neck, but no big horns like its later cousin Triceratops. It walked on all fours and was about the size of a large sheep.1 2

Lived

121 to 72 million years ago5

Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, China1 5

Food

Plants1 5

Length

2 to 2.5 m1

Weight

62 kg to 104 kg1

Height

0.76 m3

at the hips

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How tall was it?

at the hips

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 3 big dogs

as long as 2.5 dogs nose to tailas long as 14 bananas end to endas heavy as 21 watermelons

How big was Protoceratops compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Protoceratops laid soft-shelled eggs, which is rare for dinosaurs.1

A famous fossil called the Fighting Dinosaurs shows a Protoceratops locked in battle with a Velociraptor.1

Juvenile Protoceratops could walk on two legs, but adults walked on all fours.1

The frill on its neck was probably used for display or to protect the neck during fights.1

Protoceratops had a horn on its nose, and one species, P. hellenikorhinus, had two small horns side by side.1

Its feet had wide, flat claws that were good for digging in sand.1

Protoceratops lived in groups and may have cared for its young.1

AI-made picture of Protoceratops — An AI-made picture of how Protoceratops might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Protoceratops

?How big was Protoceratops?

Protoceratops was about 2 to 2.5 metres (6.6 to 8.2 feet) long and weighed around 62 to 104 kilograms (137 to 229 pounds). That is roughly the size of a large sheep.1 2

?What did Protoceratops eat?

Protoceratops was a herbivore. It used its parrot-like beak and strong jaws to chop and grind tough plant material.1 4

?Did Protoceratops have horns?

It had a small horn on its nose, not big horns like Triceratops. One species, P. hellenikorhinus, had two small horns side by side on its nose.1

?When did Protoceratops live?

Protoceratops lived during the Late Cretaceous Period, about 75 to 71 million years ago.1 4

?Where did Protoceratops live?

Protoceratops lived in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia and China. Back then it was a dry, sandy environment.1 2

?Did Protoceratops fight Velociraptor?

Yes. A famous fossil called the Fighting Dinosaurs shows a Protoceratops and a Velociraptor locked in combat. They probably died together in a struggle.1

?Could Protoceratops walk on two legs?

Juvenile Protoceratops could walk on two legs if needed, but adults walked on all fours.1

Ask Rex about Protoceratops

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Myth buster

Myth: Protoceratops was a direct ancestor of Triceratops.

Truth: Protoceratops was an early relative of Triceratops, but it was not a direct ancestor. It belonged to a side branch of the ceratopsian family tree.1 2

For dino experts

Scientific name: Protoceratops
Named by: Granger and Gregory 19235
Group: Horned dinos
Family / clade: Protoceratopsidae5
Classification: Ornithischia > Ceratopsia5
Age of the rocks: 121 to 72 million years (Aptian / Campanian)5
Rock formations: Djadokhta, Bayan Mandahu, Baruungoyot5
Countries: Mongolia, China5
Fossil records: 38 in the Paleobiology Database5
Also known as: Bainoceratops (older names now counted as the same animal)5
Discovery: Protoceratops was named in 1923 by Walter Granger and William K. Gregory based on fossils found in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia.1 5
Still debated: Scientists are not sure whether the sail on its tail was used for display, swimming, or to help control body temperature.1

Where the facts come from

Protoceratops (en.wikipedia.org)
Protoceratops | Mongolia, Late Cretaceous, Herbivore | Britannica (britannica.com)
Protoceratops andrewsi (carnegiemnh.org)
Protoceratops | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
Protoceratops in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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