Udanoceratops

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Udanoceratops
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, Campanian
Udanoceratops Skeleton Reconstruction.png
Skeletal reconstruction
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Ornithischia
Clade: Neornithischia
Clade: Ceratopsia
Family: Leptoceratopsidae
Genus: Udanoceratops
Kurzanov, 1992
Species:
U. tschizhovi
Binomial name
Udanoceratops tschizhovi
Kurzanov, 1992

Udanoceratops (meaning "Udan's horned face") is a genus of large leptoceratopsid dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period of Mongolia.

Contents

Discovery

Fossil localities of Mongolia and the location of Bayan Mandahu; Udanoceratops fossils have been reported from the Udan Sayr (center) and possibly Baga Tariach (right) localities Bayan Mandahu ; ligging.png
Fossil localities of Mongolia and the location of Bayan Mandahu; Udanoceratops fossils have been reported from the Udan Sayr (center) and possibly Baga Tariach (right) localities

Udanoceratops was first named and described by Russian paleontologist Sergei Kurzanov in 1992 and the type species is Udanoceratops tschizhovi. The holotype (PIN 3907/11) was collected during the 1980s at the Udan Sayr (also spelled Udyn Sayr or Üüden Sair) locality of the Djadokhta Formation in Ömnögovi Province, dating to the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period. The generic name is derived from the name of the locality in which the holotype was found (Udan Sayr) and Greek ceras/κέρας meaning "horn" and -ops/ωψ meaning "face". Udanoceratops is best known from the holotype specimen, which represents a large individual comprising a large, relatively well-preserved and almost complete skull, and sparse body remains including vertebrae. [1]

In 1993 a large skull ("nearly 1 m long") assigned to Udanoceratops was reported from the nearby Bayan Mandahu Formation by paleontologist Tomasz Jerzykiewicz. [2] However, Polish paleontologist Łukasz Czepiński in 2020 pointed out that there are no referable specimens to Udanoceratops from the Bayan Mandahu collections, and it is most likely that these remains were confused with the concurring (and relatively large) Protoceratops hellenikorhinus . [3]

In 2004 Viktor S. Tereschhenko referred a juvenile specimen (PIN 4046/11) to Udanoceratops aff. tschizhovi, from the Baga Tariach locality in Dornogovi Province, which Tereschhenko attributed to the Djadokhta Formation. [4] Geological analyses carried out across fossiliferous localities of the Gobi Desert published by Mahito Watabe and team in 2010, indicates that this locality instead correlates best with the Maastrichtian-stage Barun Goyot Formation. [5] The assignment of this specimen, however, has varied since then from "Udanoceratops" sp., [6] [7] to ?Udanoceratops sp. [8]

Description

Size comparison to a 1.8 m tall human Udanoceratops size.png
Size comparison to a 1.8 m tall human

Udanoceratops was a large ceratopsian, estimated at to have reached nearly 4 m (13 ft) long with a weight of 700 kg (1,500 lb). [9] It is the largest leptoceratopsid known so far. [10] The skull had a short frill and no horns over the eyes or nose. Its skull was about 60 cm (600 mm) long. The lower jaw was distinctively robust. [1]

Classification

Reconstruction of the holotype skull Udanoceratops skull.svg
Reconstruction of the holotype skull

Udanoceratops belonged to the Ceratopsia (the name is derived Greek meaning 'horned face'), a group of herbivorous dinosaurs with parrot-like beaks which thrived in North America and Asia during the Cretaceous Period. [1] It is placed within the Leptoceratopsidae, as the only Asian representative at the time, along with the North American Leptoceratops , Montanoceratops and Prenoceratops . [10]

Paleobiology

Life restoration Udanoceratops Restoration.png
Life restoration

Udanoceratops, like all ceratopsians, was a herbivore. The short, deep jaws would have given the animal a powerful bite. The toothless beak would have served to grasp and crop stems or leaves, and as in other leptoceratopsids, the teeth would have met with an action that combined shearing and crushing. The feeding adaptations seen in leptoceratopsids suggest a diet of relatively tough food items, however little is known about the plants that grew in the Gobi Desert during the Cretaceous. [10] The type specimen does bear a injury to its face, possibly caused by the bitting of another Udanoceratops. This might also explain its hard bite as having some sort of social function. [9]


See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Protoceratops</i> Genus of reptiles (fossil)

Protoceratops is a genus of small protoceratopsid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous, around 75 to 71 million years ago. The genus Protoceratops includes two species: P. andrewsi and the larger P. hellenikorhinus. The former was described in 1923 with fossils from the Mongolian Djadokhta Formation, and the latter in 2001 with fossils from the Chinese Bayan Mandahu Formation. Protoceratops was initially believed to be an ancestor of ankylosaurians and larger ceratopsians, such as Triceratops and relatives, until the discoveries of other protoceratopsids. Populations of P. andrewsi may have evolved into Bagaceratops through anagenesis.

<i>Avimimus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Avimimus, meaning "bird mimic", is a genus of oviraptorosaurian theropod dinosaur, named for its bird-like characteristics, that lived in the late Cretaceous in what is now Mongolia, around 85 to 70 million years ago.

<i>Zuniceratops</i> Extinct genus of ceratopsian

Zuniceratops is a genus of ceratopsian dinosaurs that lived during the Turonian stage of the Late Cretaceous in what is now New Mexico, United States. Only a single species is known, Zuniceratops christopheri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protoceratopsidae</span> Extinct family of ceratopsians

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.

<i>Leptoceratops</i> Extinct genus of ceratopsian dinosaur

Leptoceratops is a genus of leptoceratopsid ceratopsian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of North America. First found in Alberta in 1910, the type species Leptoceratops gracilis was named in 1914 by Barnum Brown for a partial skull and skeleton of two individuals found in the Scollard Formation. Additional specimens found in the Scollard include a fully complete skeleton and two other very complete individuals alongside it, uncovered in 1947 by Charles M. Sternberg. Specimens from Montana that were among some of the earliest material referred to Leptoceratops have since been moved to their own genera Montanoceratops and Cerasinops, while new material including bonebed remains from the Hell Creek Formation of Montana, and a partial skeleton from the Lance Formation of Wyoming, have been referred to L. gracilis. Combined, Leptoceratops is known from more than ten individuals all from the Maastrichtian deposits of Alberta, Montana and Wyoming, with the complete skeleton represented.

<i>Bagaceratops</i> Protoceratopsid dinosaur genus from the Late Cretaceous

Bagaceratops is a genus of small protoceratopsid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous, around 72 to 71 million years ago. Bagaceratops remains have been reported from the Barun Goyot Formation and Bayan Mandahu Formation. One specimen may argue the possible presence of Bagaceratops in the Djadochta Formation.

<i>Breviceratops</i> Protoceratopsid dinosaur genus from the Late Cretaceous

Breviceratops is a genus of protoceratopsid dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now the Barun Goyot Formation, Mongolia.

Bainoceratops is a genus of ceratopsian dinosaur from the late Campanian in the Late Cretaceous. The type species is B. efremovi. Its fossils were found in southern Mongolia in the Djadochta Formation.

Kuru is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod from the Late Cretaceous Barun Goyot Formation of Mongolia. The genus contains only a single species, the type species Kuru kulla, which is known from a fragmentary skeleton including a partial skull.

<i>Graciliceratops</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Graciliceratops is a genus of neoceratopsian dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barun Goyot Formation</span> Geological formation in Mongolia

The Barun Goyot Formation is a geological formation dating to the Late Cretaceous Period. It is located within and is widely represented in the Gobi Desert Basin, in the Ömnögovi Province of Mongolia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Djadochta Formation</span> Geologic formation in Mongolia

The Djadochta Formation is a highly fossiliferous geological formation situated in Central Asia, Gobi Desert, dating from the Late Cretaceous period, about 75 million to 71 million years ago. The type locality is the Bayn Dzak locality, famously known as the Flaming Cliffs. Reptile and mammal remains are among the fossils recovered from the formation.

<i>Yamaceratops</i> Extinct genus of ceratopsian dinosaur

Yamaceratops is a genus of primitive ceratopsian that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now the Javkhlant Formation. Initially, the rocks where it was found in were thought to be from the Early Cretaceous, but the age was reevaluated in 2009. It was a relatively small dinosaur, reaching 50 cm (1.6 ft) in length and 2 kg (4.4 lb) in body mass.

<i>Ceratonykus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Ceratonykus is a monospecific genus of alvarezsaurid dinosaur from Mongolia that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now the Barun Goyot Formation. The type and only species, Ceratonykus oculatus, is known from a fragmentary skeleton, including an incomplete skull, of an adult individual. It was named and described in 2009 by Vladimir Alifanov and Rinchen Barsbold. Its describers questioned the traditional placement of alvarezsaurs in Theropoda, instead suggesting they were ornithischians, but this has not been accepted since. Ceratonykus has an estimated length of 75 centimetres and weight of 760 grams. It has been considered as a possible junior synonym of Parvicursor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bayan Mandahu Formation</span> Geological formation in China

The Bayan Mandahu Formation is a geological unit of "redbeds" located near the village of Bayan Mandahu in Inner Mongolia, China, in the Gobi Desert. It dates from the late Cretaceous Period. Laid down in the Campanian, it is dated somewhat uncertainly to between 75 and 71 mya.

<i>Aquilops</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Aquilops is an early herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur dating from the Early Cretaceous of North America, approximately 109 million to 104 million years ago. The type species is A. americanus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of ceratopsian research</span>

This timeline of ceratopsian research is a chronological listing of events in the history of paleontology focused on the ceratopsians, a group of herbivorous marginocephalian dinosaurs that evolved parrot-like beaks, bony frills, and, later, spectacular horns. The first scientifically documented ceratopsian fossils were described by Edward Drinker Cope starting in the 1870s; however, the remains were poorly preserved and their true nature was not recognized. Over the next several decades, Cope named several such genera and species. Cope's hated rival, Othniel Charles Marsh, also described ceratopsian remains. In 1887, Marsh mistook a Triceratops horn for one belonging to a new species of prehistoric Bison. Marsh also named the eponymous genus Ceratops in 1888. The next year, he named the most famous ceratopsian, Triceratops horridus. It was the discovery of Triceratops that illuminated the ceratopsian body plan, and he formally named the Ceratopsia in 1890.

Khulsanurus is an extinct genus of alvarezsaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Barungoyot Formation of the Khulsan Locality in the Gobi Desert region of Mongolia. The type and only species is Khulsanurus magnificus.

<i>Natovenator</i> Genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous

Natovenator is a genus of halszkaraptorine dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Barun Goyot Formation of Mongolia. The genus is known from a single species, N. polydontus. Natovenator is crucial to the understanding of halszkaraptorines due to it providing more support for the semi-aquatic lifestyle that has been proposed for this clade. This discovery is important as the semi-aquatic lifestyles of halszkaraptorines was contested in early 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kurzanov, S. M. (1992). "Новый род протоцератопсид из позднего мела Монголии" [A giant protoceratopsid from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia]. Paleontological Journal (in Russian): 81−93.
  2. Jerzykiewicz, T.; Currie, P. J.; Eberth, D. A.; Johnston, P. A.; Koster, E. H.; Zheng, J.-J. (1993). "Djadokhta Formation correlative strata in Chinese Inner Mongolia: an overview of the stratigraphy, sedimentary geology, and paleontology and comparisons with the type locality in the pre-Altai Gobi". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 30 (10): 2180−2195. Bibcode:1993CaJES..30.2180J. doi:10.1139/e93-190.
  3. Czepiński, Ł. (2020). "New protoceratopsid specimens improve the age correlation of the Upper Cretaceous Gobi Desert strata" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 65 (3): 481−497. doi: 10.4202/app.00701.2019 .
  4. Tereschhenko, V. S. (2004). "О гетероцельных позвонках у рогатых динозавров (Protoceratopidae, Neoceratopsia)" [On the heterocelous vertebrae in horned dinosaurs (Protoceratopidae, Neoceratopsia)]. Paleontological Journal (2): 81−86.
  5. Watabe, M.; Tsogtbaatar, K.; Suzuki, S.; Saneyoshi, M. (2010). "Geology of dinosaur fossil bearing localities (Jurassic and Cretaceous: Mesozoic) in the Gobi Desert: Results of the HMNS-MPC Joint Paleontological Expedition". Hayashibara Museum of Natural Sciences Research Bulletin. 3: 41–118.
  6. Tereschenko, V. S. (2007). "Key to Protoceratopoid Vertebrae (Ceratopsia, Dinosauria) from Mongolia". Paleontological Journal. 41 (2): 175−188. Bibcode:2007PalJ...41..175T. doi:10.1134/S0031030107020086. S2CID   84954199.
  7. Tereschhenko, V. S. (2008). "Adaptive Features of Protoceratopsids (Ornithischia: Neoceratopsia)". Paleontological Journal. 42 (3): 50−64. Bibcode:2008PalJ...42..273T. doi:10.1134/S003103010803009X. S2CID   84366476.
  8. Kuznetsov, A. N.; Tereschenko, V. S. (2015). "Methods for Size Reconstruction in Distorted and Damaged Vertebrae of Fossil Tetrapods". Paleontological Journal. 49 (3): 293−303. Bibcode:2015PalJ...49..293T. doi:10.1134/S0031030115030120. S2CID   82907196.
  9. 1 2 Paul, G. S. (2016). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (2nd ed.). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 278. ISBN   9780691167664.
  10. 1 2 3 Dodson, P. (1996). The Horned Dinosaurs . Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. ISBN   0-691-05900-4.