Psittacosaurus

Psittacosaurus is a genus of extinct ceratopsian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of what is now Asia, existing between 125 and 105 million years ago. It is notable for being the most species-rich non-avian dinosaur genus. Up to 13 species are known, from across China, Mongolia, Russia, and Thailand. The species of Psittacosaurus were obligate bipeds at adulthood, with a high skull and a robust beak. One individual was found preserved with long filaments on the tail, similar to those of Tianyulong. Psittacosaurus probably had complex behaviours, based on the proportions and relative size of the brain. It may have been active for short periods of time during the day and night, and had well-developed senses of smell and vision.

A picture published with the record for Psittacosaurus.

Uncredited · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
CeratopsiaPBDB
Diet
herbivorePBDB
Life habit
ground dwellingPBDB
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Ornithischia
Environment
terrestrialPBDB
Length
2 mWikidata

Time the record covers

At least 25 million years on record.

The record covers at least 125.77 Mya to 100.5 Mya. No occurrence read is dated outside 161.5 Mya to 66 Mya.

Middle Jurassic — about 0 of 70 occurrencesLate Jurassic — about 0 of 70 occurrencesLate JurassicEarly Cretaceous — about 69 of 70 occurrencesEarly CretaceousLate Cretaceous — about 1 of 70 occurrencesLate CretaceousPaleocene — about 0 of 70 occurrences163–160 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences160–157 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences157–153 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences153–150 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences150–147 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences147–144 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences144–140 Mya — about 0.9 occurrences140–137 Mya — about 1 occurrence137–134 Mya — about 3 occurrences134–130 Mya — about 3 occurrences130–127 Mya — about 3 occurrences127–124 Mya — about 8 occurrences124–120 Mya — about 13 occurrences120–117 Mya — about 11 occurrences117–114 Mya — about 10 occurrences114–110 Mya — about 6 occurrences110–107 Mya — about 4 occurrences107–104 Mya — about 3 occurrences104–101 Mya — about 3 occurrences101–97 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences97–94 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences94–91 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences91–87 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences87–84 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences84–81 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences81–77 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences77–74 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences74–71 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences71–67 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences67–64 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences125.77 Mya100.5 Mya163 Mya64 Mya

70 occurrences of Psittacosaurus on record, most of them in the Early Cretaceous. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

70 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

22 formations

Yixian — 41.80°N, 120.73°EYixian — 41.60°N, 120.87°EYixian — 41.78°N, 120.76°EYixian — 41.53°N, 121.25°EYixian — 41.58°N, 120.95°EYixian — 41.41°N, 119.12°EIlek — 55.90°N, 87.96°EIlek — 56.53°N, 91.81°EIlek — 55.97°N, 88.09°EIlek — 55.88°N, 88.32°EIlek — 56.32°N, 90.47°EÖösh — 44.24°N, 102.73°EÖösh — 44.75°N, 101.87°EEjinhoro — 39.12°N, 109.98°EEjinhoro — 39.03°N, 109.98°EEjinhoro — 39.88°N, 108.34°EEjinhoro — 39.70°N, 108.74°EEjinhoro — 39.36°N, 108.41°EJiufotang — 41.25°N, 120.03°EDoushan — 37.07°N, 119.67°EDoushan — 36.98°N, 120.71°EKhuren Dukh — 45.83°N, 108.45°EZhonggou — 41.47°N, 97.97°EZhonggou — 41.58°N, 97.58°EBayangobi — 41.17°N, 106.08°EBayangobi — 40.99°N, 104.07°ELisangou — 41.02°N, 110.08°EKhok Kruat — 16.38°N, 102.93°EKhok Kruat — 16.23°N, 102.42°ETsagaantsav — 44.46°N, 109.92°ETsagaantsav — 45.30°N, 101.62°ELuohandong — 38.92°N, 108.08°EDöshuul — 45.40°N, 101.73°ELianmuqin — 46.10°N, 85.67°EUlan Argalant — 45.22°N, 99.17°EDushihin — 45.40°N, 101.73°EDzunbain — 42.45°N, 102.42°EJingchuan — 38.93°N, 107.26°EOn Gong — 41.42°N, 102.07°EZhidan — 39.66°N, 109.74°EAndaikhudag — 44.75°N, 101.87°E

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Psittacosaurus has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 8 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Psittacosaurus and its relatives

Early Cretaceous

Where Psittacosaurus and its relatives were recorded in the Early Cretaceous.

Found in the same rock

216 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 62 sites for Psittacosaurus, and this reads all of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

43 references

Each of the 70 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 31 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content3

Picture of Psittacosaurus

Credit
nobody named on the record
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

CT scan

Licence
not stated by the source
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record
Specimen
Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis · ivpp:v:12617

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC Attribution-NonCommercial
Commercial use
the licence does not allow it

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itCeratopsia through timeFormations of the Early CretaceousThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Osborn 1923