Auroraceratops
Name:
Auroraceratops
(Dawn horned face).
Phonetic: Or-ror-ah-seh-rah-tops.
Named By: H. You, D. Li, Q. Ji, M.
Lamanna & P. Dodson - 2005.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Ornithischia, Ceratopsia.
Species: A. rugosus (type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Skull 20 centimetres long, total length
estimated about 2 meters long.
Known locations: China, Gansu Province.
Time period: Aptian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Almost complete skull of a
subadult. Holotype is IG-2004-VD-001.
Auroraceratops
is a genus of neoceratopsian
dinosaur, the kind of horned dinosaurs
that were becoming more and more common during the early Cretaceous,
the descendants of which would grow into the horned giants like
Triceratops
at of the late Cretaceous. One of the notable features
about Auroraceratops is the rough rugose appearance
of the holotype
skull. In life this would have been covered by a further development
of keratin that would have left a pronounced appearance upon the face.
This may have been a form of rudimentary armour protection for
Auroraceratops engaged in butting or pushing
contests with one another
as they fought for dominance.
Another
area of interest about Auroraceratops is that at
least two pairs of
teeth in the premaxilla are fang-like. The exact function and purpose
of these teeth is unknown, but in other herbivorous animals teeth
like these are often adaptations for digging and gaining grip on plants
so that they can be removed from the ground with ease.
Auroraceratops
was the second genus of basal neoceratopsian dinosaur found in the
Mazong Shan area, with the Archaeoceratops
genus being named in
1997. Another genus of ceratopsian dinosaur similar to
Auroraceratops that lived at the same time but in
Liaoning Province is
Liaoceratops.
Differences visible in the skull of Auroraceratops
however mean that there is no doubt that Auroraceratops
is a distinct
genus.
The
genus name Auroraceratops has double meaning in
that it refers to the
basal position of Auroraceratops in relation to
other ceratopsians,
and also to honour the wife of one of the describers, Dawn Dodson.
Further reading
- On a new genus of basal Neoceratopsian dinosaur from the Early
Cretaceous of Gansu Province, China, H. You, D. Li, Q.
Ji, M. Lamanna & P. Dodson - 2005.
- Postcranial morphology of the basal neoceratopsian (Ornithischia:
Ceratopsia) Auroraceratops rugosus from the Early Cretaceous
(Aptian–Albian) of northwestern Gansu Province, China. - Journal of
Vertebrate Paleontology. 38 (sup 1.): 75–116. - E. M. Morschhauser, H.
You, D. Li & P. Dodson - 2019.
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