Psittacosaurus

Name: Psittacosaurus

Pronounced: Sit-tah-coe-sore-us

Meaning: Parrot lizard

Type: Ceratopsian

Length: 2 meters long

Diet: Herbivore

Period: Early Cretaceous

Years: 120-100 million years ago

Location: China, Mongolia. Russia, Thailand

Description: Psittacosaurus was a small, herbivorous dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 100-120 million years ago. It was a ceratopsian, a group of dinosaurs characterized by their beaked snouts and frilled skulls. The name 'Psittacosaurus' means 'parrot lizard' a reference to the parrot-like beak that it used to chop and grind plant material. Psittacosaurus was a bipedal dinosaur, with a long, narrow snout and a small, triangular frill on the back of its skull. It had small, sharp teeth that were adapted for cutting and shredding tough plant material. The body of Psittacosaurus was compact and heavily armored, with rows of bony plates running down its back and sides. It had short, powerful legs and a long, thick tail that it likely used for balance when moving through dense vegetation. Overall, Psittacosaurus was a small dinosaur, reaching about 3-4 meters (10-13 feet) in length and weighing about 100-200 kilograms (220-440 pounds). It was widely distributed across much of Asia during the Early Cretaceous, and several species of Psittacosaurus have been described based on fossil remains.

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