Early Ceratopsian Fossil Dinosaur Skull

Description: This is the well-preserved skull of an early Ceratopsian dinosaur known as Psittacosaurus.The genus was named by H.F. Osborn in the early 1920s from specimens collected by the famous Central Asiatic Expeditions led by Roy Chapman Andrews. Although there are nearly 20 species named, only about half are considered valid. Those from the Yixian Formation, home of the fabulous feathered dinosaurs, are as yet undescribed.Psittacosaurus derives its name from its parrot-like rostrum (beak), a feature shared with the great horned dinosaurs which came 20 plus million years later. It was a maximum of 2 meters in length, and was primarily bipedal despite its well-developed forelegs. It presumably used its forelegs to gather in vegetation which it cropped with its sharp beak and pulverized with its teeth (see the close-ups). Several examples of brooding behavior in dinosaurs have now been found. A recent article in Nature describes an adult Psittacosaur found with 34 presumed hatchlings in a bowl-like depression thought to be a nest, a strong indication that this brood care may have been more widespread than once thought.