| Prenoceratops | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cast of a fossil skeleton,The Children's Museum of Indianapolis | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | †Ornithischia |
| Clade: | †Ceratopsia |
| Family: | †Leptoceratopsidae |
| Genus: | †Prenoceratops Chinnery, 2004 |
| Species: | †P. pieganensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Prenoceratops pieganensis Chinnery, 2004 | |
Prenoceratops, (meaning 'bent or prone-horned face' and derived fromGreekprene-/πρηνη- meaning 'bent forwards' or 'prone',cerat-/κερατ- meaning 'horn' and-ops/ωψ meaning 'face') is a genus of herbivorousceratopsiandinosaur from the LateCretaceousPeriod. It was a relatively small dinosaur, reaching 1.3 m (4.3 ft) in length and 20 kg (44 lb) in body mass.[1] Its fossils have been found in the upperTwo Medicine Formation in the present-day U.S. state ofMontana, inCampanian age rock layers that have been dated to 74.3 million years ago.[2] Fossils were also found in theOldman Formation in the modern dayCanadian province ofAlberta, dating to around 77 million years ago.[3][4]
Prenoceratops was first discovered on aBlackfeet reservation inPondera County, Montana in layers coming from theCampanianTwo Medicine Formation.[5] The locality at whichPrenoceratops was found was filled with many disassociated fossil elements of many individuals, known as a bonebed, though only the skull material has been described as of 2022.[2][5] The holotype was one of the few associated specimens, including a surrangular fused with an articular, the specimen is designated asTCM 2003.1.1.Prenoceratops was later described by Brenda J. Chinnery in 2004, though the taxon has been little noticed since.[5] It is unusual in that it is the only basal neoceratopsian known from abonebed and the sheer number of elements.[2][5]
An isolated right frontal from theOldman Formation of southern Alberta, Canada was described in 2010 and ascribed toPrenoceratops asP. sp.[3] The fossil was found near a fossilized nesting site ofHypacrosaurus.[3]
NamedPrenoceratops species include onlyP. pieganensis (type).[5]
Prenoceratops belonged to the Ceratopsia (which name is derived from Ancient Greek, meaning 'horned face'), a group of herbivorous dinosaurs withparrot-like beaks, which thrived inNorth America andAsia during the Cretaceous Period. It is closely related toLeptoceratops, which it antedates by several million years. It is characterized by a lower, more sloping head than that ofLeptoceratops.
Prenoceratops, like all ceratopsians, was aherbivore. During the Cretaceous, flowering plants were "geographically limited on the landscape", and so it is likely that this dinosaur fed on the predominant plants of the era:ferns,cycads andconifers. It would have used its sharp ceratopsian beak to bite off the leaves or needles.
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