Psittacosaurus was a herbivore (plant-eater)
that lived in
China, Mongolia and Siberia, during the early Cretaceous period,
about 120 to 100 million years ago.
The name Psittacosaurus was coined by
Henry Fairfield Osborn
and means "parrot lizard".
Psittacosaurus was about 8 feet (2.4 meters) long. It was bipedal (walked on
two legs) and equipped with a powerful beak on its upper jaw.
Psittacosaurus jaws were filled with self-sharpening teeth that would have
been used for cropping and slicing plant material, but were unsuitable for
chewing its food. The animal is known to have swallowed stones
("gastroliths") which would have helped wear down its food as
it passed through its digestive system (probably in a similar manner to
the gizzard in modern birds) - as many as 50 gastroliths have been found
in the abdominal cavities of some specimens.
Fossils
of at least 10 different species of Psittacosaurus have been
found so far in
China,
Mongolia and
Russia,
plus a possible additional species from
Thailand. In fact,
in total
fossils
of over 400 individual animals have been collected so far, including many
complete skeletons, and of every age from hatchling to adult, making it
one of the most studied and best-known dinosaur genera.
One
fossil
specimen found in China was found to have what
appear to have been hollow tubular bristles, each about 6 inches
(16 centimeters) in a single row down its back and tail. The purpose
of these structures are not certain, but one possibility is that they
were used for display and communication. It is also not clear whether
these (or similar) structures were found on all species of
Psittacosaurus, or just on this one particular species.
Psittacosaurus was a member of the Ornithischia ("bird-hipped") order of dinosaurs. What this means, is that although Psittacosaurus was not closely related to birds, it did have similarly shaped pelvic bones.
Psittacosaurus was a Ceratopsian - a member of a group of related herbivorous (plant-eating) dinosaurs with beaks, many of which had neck frills and horns as well.
Psittacosaurus lived between about 120 million years ago and 100 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period.
Psittacosaurus lived in China, Mongolia and Siberia.
Psittacosaurus was a herbivore (plant-eater).
Psittacosaurus is thought to have swallowed stones which would have been used to help grind up tough plant material (some modern birds do the same thing). Fossils of these stones ("gastroliths") have been found in the same rocks as Psittacosaurus.
Psittacosaurus was up to 8 feet (2.4 meters) long.
Psittacosaurus weighed upto about 175 pounds (79 kilograms).
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