Fun Zhuchengceratops Facts For Kids
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Zhuchengceratops were herbivorous dinosaurs. The only discovery of this species was made from the Shandong Province in China. Studies have classified this species to have belonged to the Upper Cretaceous period.
Dinosaurs continue to be discovered from across the globe. Every discovery contributes to a better understanding of the genealogy of dinosaurs. Many fossils have been found in the bone bed of the Wangshi Group in Zhucheng county.
In 2010, a new species was described after a partially articulated skeleton of a Leptoceratopsid Ceratopsian was found in China. The fossils were found among the bones of the Shantungosaurus, which is considered the largest hadrosaurid.
This herbivorous species was named Zhuchengceratops inexpectus. It was a significant discovery as the species had a unique morphology that exhibited the physical characteristics of two families: Leptoceratopsid and Ceratopsidae. It also displayed the successful radiation of the leptoceratopsid clad.
Continue reading to discover interesting facts about the classification, physiology, behavior, and other characteristics of this extinct herbivorous dinosaur.
Zhuchengceratops Interesting Facts
How do you pronounce 'Zhuchengceratops'?
Zhuchengceratops is pronounced as 'Zhu-cheng-seh-rah-tops', which roughly translates to Zhucheng horned face.
What type of dinosaur was a Zhuchengceratops?
Zhuchengceratops is an extinct ceratopsian dinosaur from the Leptoceratopsidae family.
In which geological period did the Zhuchengceratops roam the Earth?
Zhuchengceratops roamed the Earth during the Campanian Age of the Upper Cretaceous period. The Campanian Age fell between 83.6 million to 72.1 million years ago. Its skeleton was recovered from the Wangshi Group in Shandong County, China.
When did the Zhuchengceratops become extinct?
As per the main study, this extinct ceratopsian became extinct 72.1 million years ago.
Where did Zhuchengceratops live?
The Zhuchengceratops was a terrestrial dinosaur.
What was the Zhuchengceratopss' habitat?
The Zhuchengceratops skeleton was discovered in Kugou, Zhucheng County, Shandong Province, China. The Wangshi Group where the Zhuchengceratops partially articulated skeleton was recovered is considered a habitat rich in fossils.
Who did the Zhuchengceratops live with?
Since the ceratopsian was discovered in the Wangshi Group, it is likely this genus lived with other dinosaurs like Sinoceratops, Tanius, Shantungosaurus, Tsintaosaurus, Pinacosaurus, and Zhuchengtyrannus.
How long did a Zhuchengceratops live?
The lifespan of Zhuchengceratops has yet to be studied.
How did they reproduce?
Like other dinosaurs, the Zhuchengceratops was oviparous, i.e., the genus reproduced by laying eggs.
Zhuchengceratops Fun Facts
What did the Zhuchengceratops look like?
The partially articulated skeleton of the Zhuchengceratops in China revealed the extinct species to be one of the members of the leptoceratopsid family. The vertebrate, mandibles, jaw, and teeth of these dinosaurs also resembled those seen in dinosaurs from the Ceratopsidae clan.
Like other ceratopsians, Zhuchengceratops also had a horned face. This discovery is of grave significance as it revealed the adaptive changes taking place in these clans.
The most notable feature of this dinosaur was its massive mandible. The whole head to mid-point ratio of this genus is unlike any seen in other ceratopsians.
Even the predentary is different from that seen in other ceratopsians. It is oriented vertically, and the large dentary also accounts for 60% of the entire length of the mandible. The width of the dentary is similar to the dentary seen in Protoceratops.
How many bones did a Zhuchengceratops have?
Since only a single specimen with a partial skeleton was found for the Zhuchengceratops, the total number of bones cannot be ascertained. The partial skeleton includes partial maxillae, jugal, and quadrate, partial right quadratojugal, nearly complete left and right mandibles, partial left ectopterygoid and pterygoid, anterior 14 presacral vertebrae, along with some fragmented bones.
How did they communicate?
The manner by which these dinosaurs communicated has yet to be ascertained. It is widely believed that generally, members of the ceratopsian family used their horns to show off to the opposite sex.
How big was the Zhuchengceratops?
Judging from the sizes and proportions of the recovered skeleton, the Zhuchengceratops was larger than most Leptoceratops. The 19.65 in (50 cm) long mandible led the researcher to infer that the head size of this genus was massive, similar to other dinosaurs from the neoceratopsian family.
The size of this ceratopsian was estimated to be around 78.74 in (200 cm). Since this genus was a ceratops member, the dinosaur had a horned face. The tooth adaptation and other features showcase Zhuchengceratops as a distinct genus.
When compared to other ceratops as Sinoceratops found during the same period, the Zhuchengceratops were almost half the size. Even the plank lizard, Pinacosaurus, was longer in size compared to the Zhuchengceratops.
How fast could a Zhuchengceratops move?
The speed by which a Zhuchengceratops moved has yet to be ascertained.
How much did a Zhuchengceratops weigh?
The weight of this genus has yet to be ascertained.
What were the male and female names of the species?
The male and female of the Zhuchengceratops are called by the same name. They would be referred to as adult Zhuchengceratops.
What would you call a baby Zhuchengceratops?
The baby would be referred to as a juvenile Zhuchengceratops.
How aggressive were they?
The aggression level displayed by the Zhuchengceratops has yet to be ascertained. There are some really famous ceratopsians known for their highly aggressive behavior, like Triceratops, but the same cannot be confirmed for the Zhuchengceratops.
Did You Know…
The Zhuchengceratops had strong mandibles that could hold the dinosaur's unique teeth structure. This adaptation may have developed in response to the available food sources. The teeth helped the dinosaur chew tough food, which they would snip off using their beak-like mouth. Whether Zhuchengceratops used their teeth to bite other dinosaurs has not to be ascertained yet.
The behavior of Zhuchengceratops has yet to be ascertained, so it is unclear whether these dinosaurs were territorial or not. However, it is known that they coexisted with other dinosaurs found in the Wangshi Group.
Zhuchengceratops was derived from the location where the fossils were found Zhucheng county and ceratops (horn-face, Latinized Greek). The genus species was named Z. inexpectus. The dinosaur was named so because of the unexpected discovery of its fossils in the bone beds of Zhucheng.
Zhuchengceratops was a Quadrapedal; it used all four limbs to move. However, the speed by which these dinosaurs traveled from one distance to another has yet to be ascertained.
The holotype of this species- ZCDM V0015 can be found in the Zhucheng Dinosaur Museum.
Xing Xu et al. first described this species as part of their study: A New Leptoceratopsid (Ornithischia: Ceratopsia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Shandong, China and Its Implications for Neoceratopsian Evolution in 2010.
Ceratopsians are deemed as representative of the last successful dinosaurian radiations. Before the discovery of the Leptoceratopsidae family, Ceratopsidae was considered the only speciose clade within Ceratopsians.
The discovery of this genus displayed the coexistence of leptoceratopsids and ceratopsids in the Late Cretaceous of Shandong, China.
*We've been unable to source an image of a Zhuchengceratops and have used an image of Edmontonia instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of a Zhuchengceratops, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at hello@kidadl.com.
*We've been unable to source an image of a Zhuchengceratops and have used an image of Styracosaurus instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of a Zhuchengceratops, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at hello@kidadl.com.
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