Archaeoceratops

Archaeoceratops was an early neoceratopsian that lived in northwest China during the Early Cretaceous epoch. Approximately one metre long and weighing around ten kilograms, this turkey-sized animal represents an early stage in horned dinosaur evolutionary history. Unlike the ponderous quadrupedal ceratopsids that emerged tens of millions of years later, Archaeoceratops retained long hindlimbs and was primarily bipedal. Its skull bore a rudimentary neck frill and lacked true horns, retaining teeth in the premaxillary bones of the upper jaw. It provides essential anatomical evidence showing that the ancestors of giant frilled herbivores were swift, two-legged creatures that fed on low-growing vegetation.

It walked predominantly on its hind legs unlike almost all later ceratopsians.

Where and when

Archaeoceratops lived in the Early Cretaceous, from 125 to 113 million years ago (Aptian age). Its remains come from China, in the Xinminpu Group.

The numbers

Length 1.1 m (estimates run from 0.9 to 1.2 m). Mass about 8.5 kg. Hip height about 0.35 m. That is 0.6 human-lengths, or 0.1 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from near-complete skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.

Compare Archaeoceratops with a bus Place on the timeline