Name: Ornithischia, Ceratopsia, Psittacosauridae; Psittacosaurus meileyingensis
Age: Lower Cretaceous
Size (25.4 mm = 1 inch): 330 mm from tip of skull to tip of tail along backboneMatrix: 320 mm by 225 mm
Location: Jiufotang Formation, Meileyingzi, Chaoyang, Liaoning Province, China
Code: BCF074
Price: $2695.00 - Sold
 Description:
This is a well-preserved example 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. 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 for a few still found in the right
jaw. 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. This one is in good condition;
the bone present has been verified as such by examination under UV
lighting. The left humerus extends within the matrix beneath the body
of the specimen. This one has most of the ribs present; it is typical
to acquire specimens with only a half dozen or so ribs present—the
rest are removed by the preparators to make up for missing ones in
other specimens. The matrix has been reinforced on the underside with
plaster to prevent breakage. |
