Protoceratopsidae
Protoceratopsidae is a family of basal (primitive) ceratopsians from the Late Cretaceous period. Although ceratopsians have been found all over the world, protoceratopsids are only definitively known from Cretaceous strata in Asia, with most specimens found in China and Mongolia. As ceratopsians, protoceratopsids were herbivorous, with constantly replacing tooth batteries made for slicing through plants and a hooked beak for grabbing them. Protoceratopsids were small ceratopsians around 1-2.5 m in length. Their bony frill and horns were much smaller than more derived members of Ceratopsia, such as ceratopsids.
| Protoceratopsids Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, | |
|---|---|
| Two protoceratopsids: Bagaceratops (top) and Protoceratops (bottom) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | †Ornithischia |
| Suborder: | †Ceratopsia |
| Parvorder: | †Coronosauria |
| Family: | †Protoceratopsidae Granger & Gregory, 1923 |
| Type species | |
| †Protoceratops andrewsi Granger & Gregory, 1923 | |
| Subgroups | |
| Synonyms | |
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