HardPsittacosaurus
Psittacosaurus mongoliensis
sih-TAK-oh-SORE-us· “parrot lizard”
🕰️ Cretaceous🌿 herbivore🦴 Psittacosauridae
2 m
Length
0.8 m
Height
20 kg
Weight
A small, parrot-beaked plant-eater that was an early cousin of Triceratops — long before the great horned dinosaurs evolved. It is one of the best-known dinosaurs of all.
When
Early Cretaceous, ~125–100 million years ago
Found in
China
Discovered
Henry Fairfield Osborn, 1923
Did you know?
- Its parrot-like beak gives it the name 'parrot lizard'.
- It was an early relative of the horned dinosaurs like Triceratops.
- One superb fossil preserves bristles on its tail and even its camouflage colours.
Artwork: TotalDino, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.