Facts about a lesser known dinosaur

Protoceratops was called “first horned face”and was a relatively small dinosaur with a proportionately large skull.

It had large orbits (the holes for its eyes), which measured around 50 millimeters in diameter. Protoceratops was an herbivore, a plant eater.

Protoceratops had a large head, a bulky body, a parrot-like beak, cheek teeth, and a well developed neck frill at the back of its head. This frill may have served to protect the neck, anchor jaw muscles, impress other members of the species, or combinations of these functions.

Protoceratops was about 6 feet long (2 m) and weighed roughly 400 pounds (180 kg). It was about 3 feet tall (to the top of the shoulders). It walked on four short legs, and was a relatively slow dinosaur.

Protoceratops was probably a herding animal. This hypothesis is supported by the finding of bone beds, large deposits of bones of the same species in an area, and large groups of nests. Each nest had 12 or more eggs, laid in a spiral fashion.