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Protoceratops![]() Click here for more Protoceratops Pictures
Protoceratops was up to 9 feet (2.7 meters) long, although the average adult was about 6½ feet (2 meters) long. Although Protoceratops did not have horns, there was a prominent bump in the middle of its snout, which seems larger in older males, and may have been used in ritual fights for mates. Protoceratops probably spent most of its life on all fours, but as its hind legs were longer than its front legs, most likely could also walk upright on its rear legs. The eggs and nests of Protoceratops were the first dinosaur eggs and nests discovered. The nests were dug in sand and contained up to 18 eggs, carefully laid in spirals, each egg being 8 inches (20 centimeters) long. It is possible that the fossilized skeletons of Protoceratops (and perhaps other beaked dinosaurs) may have inspired the legend of the griffin. The griffin was said to be mythical creature with the body of a lion, and the head and wings of an eagle, that often guarded gold deposits. The theory, proposed by Adrienne Mayor of Stanford is that the fossilized skeletons were found by Saka-Scythian nomads who are known to have mined gold in Tien Shan and Altai Mountains of Central Asia, and that they passed on the myth to the ancient Persians, Greeks and Romans. ![]() Protoceratops Timeline:Protoceratops was a herbivore (plant-eater) that lived from 85 to 80 million years ago
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Protoceratops Facts
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