Fun Microceratops Facts For Kids

The Microceratops, also known as the Microceratus, was a small bipedal ceratopsian. They lived in the Late Cretaceous period in Mongolia, China. They were first described by Birger Bohlin in 1953 and were known as the first horned-face dinosaurs, Psittacosaurus in Mongolia.

The Microceratops genus name was changed to Microceratus because it was already given to a small Microceratops wasp. It was in 2008 when this 'Jurassic World' featured dinosaur with two legs and short front arms was renamed by Mateus as Microceratus.

The genus name Microceratus, meaning 'small horned', was also renamed for the special feature of horns on their nasal bone. These dinosaurs were small in size and were herbivores on the basis of their food habits. It is believed that they fed on a diet of flowering plants, ferns, and club mosses. They also had frills on the back of their necks and a skull which appeared to be triangular. These dinosaurs were also featured in 'Jurassic Park'.

If you really enjoyed reading this article about this 'Jurassic World' featured dinosaur, then do read some interesting facts about other dinosaurs, such as Micropachycephalosaurus and Einiosaurus.

How do you pronounce 'Microceratops'?

It is terribly embarrassing to be unable to correctly pronounce a word. So all we have to do is divide the word into chunks to simplify it. Microceratops, for example, is pronounced 'Mi-krow-seh-rah-tus'.

What type of dinosaur was a Microceratops?

Microceratops' were small horned face dinosaurs that became extinct at the end of the Late Cretaceous period. The were in a clade within the Dinosauria order of Ornithischia and the sub-order of Ceratopsia. The genus Microceratus type species is Microceratops gobiensis. The Microceratops genus name was already given to a wasp, so the genus name Microceratops was given to the wasp and the genus name for the dinosaur was renamed, Microceratus meaning 'small horned'. The genus name was replaced by Mateus for the type specimen.

In which geological period did the Microceratops roam the earth?

The Microceratops, also known as Microceratus, roamed around the earth during the Late Cretaceous period, 70 million years ago.

When did the Microceratops become extinct?

The Microceratus became extinct by the end of the Late Cretaceous period, 65 million years ago to 70 million years ago, when most of the other ceratopsians were believed to go extinct.

Where did the Microceratops live?

The Microceratops gobiensis or Microceratus lived in Mongolia, China. The place where they lived is now known as the Gobi Desert of Mongolia in China.

What was the Microceratops's habitat?

The Microceratus habitat was the green, lush woodlands of Central Asia. During the Late Cretaceous period, this place would not have been a desert and would have had green woodland flora. They must have been acquainted with living in tropical and humid climate conditions.

Who did the Microceratops live with?

The Microceratus, a small horned dinosaur, shared their habitat with the Tyrannosaurus rex, Oviraptor, and Velociraptor. It is unknown to the world whether these dinosaurs lived life in solitude or in packs.

How long did a Microceratops live?

The Microceratus lived during the Late Cretaceous period, 65 million years ago to 70 million years ago. By the end of this period, many ceratopsians were believed to go extinct. 

How did they reproduce?

There is not much known about how the Microceratus dinosaur reproduced, but generally, a ceratopsian reproduced by laying eggs and mating. The females were more involved in the parental care of the eggs and once the hatchlings hatched out. The eggs might have been laid in clutches.

What did the Microceratops look like?

The Microceratops classification is done among ceratopsians. The Microceratops was a small horned-face dinosaur with large frills like a crown on the back of their neck and skull bone vertebrae. This might have been used for protection and for regulating body temperature. The Microceratus had short front arms and these short front arms helped them to balance their bodies. They had a beak-like mouth and lacked the teeth portion in their jaws. The bony frill of this dinosaur was backward, giving it the appearance of a triangle. It is believed that these dinosaurs resembled the quadrupedal Protoceratops and Leptoceratops. The Microceratus were a primitive species of their type specimen with thin limbs, similar to frog or rabbit feet. Wild rabbits, which are huge in size, are compared with these dinosaurs. The hip bone structure was more like an ornithopod.

How many bones did a Microceratops have?

The exact number of bones in the Microceratus is not evaluated and is unknown to the world.

How did they communicate?

These small ceratopsians, Microceratus, with a beak-like mouth must have communicated using their physical gestures, such as tactile cues. They even must have communicated using their olfactory and vocal cues similarly to other ceratopsians.

How big were the Microceratops?

The Microceratops size was relatively small in comparison to other ceratopsians. They can be seen in the 'Jurassic World' movie. They were 2 ft (0.6 m) long and 10 in (25 cm) tall.

How fast could a Microceratops move?

It is believed by many scientists that these dinosaurs were very quick and agile in their movements. These small bipedal dinosaurs, due to their light body weight, could have been able to run fast when sensing some danger around them. They even had the feature of hopping. In a few literature sources, it is written that these dinosaurs had the capability of hopping on the rock surface and trees. If you want to know the exact speed of these dinosaurs, then it is not evaluated and unknown to the world.

How much did a Microceratops weigh?

The Microceratops weighed around 15 lb (6.8 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

There was no specific name given to the male and female dinosaurs of the Microceratops species and were known by their generic names.

What would you call a baby Microceratops?

Babies of Microceratops dinosaurs were called hatchlings and juveniles.

What did they eat?

The Microceratops dinosaur was a herbivorous dinosaur species that lived in the Late Cretaceous period. The type of food they fed on included flowers, conifers, horsetails, cycads, and ferns. It is believed that this dinosaur's favorite food was flowering plants. The beak-like structure helped them to eat leaves and other parts of plants. They mostly fed on low-lying vegetation due to their small size.

How aggressive were they?

The Microceratops gobiensis was a small ceratopsian and herbivore on the basis of their food habits. The classification of these dinosaurs is such that they were believed to be not that aggressive or would have left the place after sensing danger around them from their predators. They would have retreated instead of defending themselves.

Did you know...

Ceratops, meaning 'horn face', was a herbivorous dinosaur and their fossils were found in the Judith River Formation in Montana in the Late Cretaceous period. The genus belongs to Ceratopsia and Ceratopsidae. 

The Microceratus had a second species named Microceratus gobiensis, which is supposed to be from Asiaceratops.

Why are they called Microceratops?

These dinosaurs were called Microceratops because they were small-sized size ceratopsian with a small horn on their nasal bone. 'Micro' means 'tiny' or 'small'. Later, they were also known as Microceratus because the genus name Microceratops was given to the small Microceratops wasp.

Would the Microceratops bite?

According to a few theories, it is believed that they had a beak-like mouth and did not have teeth, while others state that they had teeth. A specific answer to this question can not be answered. If they had teeth, then you might not have needed required medical care as most herbivorous dinosaurs had blunt teeth.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other creatures from our Wendiceratops facts, or Monoclonius facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Microceratops coloring pages.

Second image by PaleoNeolitic

*We've been unable to source an image of Microceratops and have used an image of Mosaiceratops instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Microceratops, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at [email protected]