The clavicle of Protoceratops was an U to slightly V-shaped element that joined to the upper border of the scapulocoracoid. Protoceratops is nevertheless significant in its discovery as it has revealed many fascinating insights into dinosaur life. The large numbers of remains found relatively close to one another is taken as evidence of herding behaviour. Preservation of the scleral rings indicates a cathermal lifestyle meaning that Protoceratops was . During this year more eggs and nests were collected, alongside well-preserved and complete specimens of Protoceratops. hellenikorhinus. The lacrimal was a near-rectangular bone located in front of the orbit, contributing to the shape of the latter. More specifically, Mikhailov stated that P. sincerum and P. minimum were laid by Protoceratops, and P. fluxuosum by Breviceratops. In P. hellenikorhinus the palpebral protruded upwards from the prefrontal, just above the orbit and slightly meeting the frontal, creating a small horn-like structure. Este grupo de saurpsidos apareci hace 231 millones de aos durante el perodo Trisico, aunque su origen y su diversificacin es . [8][9][10] Since its discovery, the Tugriken Shireh locality has yielded some of the most significant specimens of Protoceratops, such as the Fighting Dinosaurs,[8] in situ individualsa preservation condition also known as "standing" individuals or specimens in some cases,[11] authentic nests,[12] and small herd-like groups. [18], Viktor Tereshchenko and Vladimir R. Alifanov in 2003 named a new protoceratopsid dinosaur from the Bayn Dzak locality, Bainoceratops efremovi . The sampled elements consisted of neck frill, femur, tibia, fibula, ribs, humerus and radius bones, and showed that the histology of Protoceratops remained rather uniform throughout ontogeny. Had a body mass of approximately 177 kg. In its general form, the forelimbs of Protoceratops were shorted than the hindlimbs, and composed by the humerus, radius, and ulna. Much in contrast to the Fighting Dinosaurs specimen, the tooth marks are inferred to have been produced by the dromaeosaurid during late-stage carcass consumption either during scavenging or following a group kill. [118], In 1993 Jerzykiewiczz suggested that many articulated Protoceratops specimens died in the process of trying to free themselves from massive sand bodies that trapped them during sandstorms events and were not transported by environmental factors. [122] These specimens were formally described and discussed in 2011 by Saneyoshi and team, including fossils from Velociraptor and an ankylosaurid. As this behavior would have been common in Protoceratops, it predisposed individuals to become entombed alive during the sudden collapse of their burrows and high energy sand-bearing eventssuch as sandstormsand thus explaining the standing in-situ posture of some specimens. [30] Norell with colleagues in 2020 examined fossilized remains around the eggs of this clutch which indicate a soft-shelled composition. Most of the fossilized remains of these dinosaurs were found in Asia, particularly in Mongolia, in the Gobi Desert and other parts of central Asia. Like other ceratops, lived in a terrestrial habitat. The radius had a slightly recurved shape and was longer than the ulna. The rear of the skull gave form to a pronounced neck frill (also known as "parietal frill") mostly composed of the parietal and squamosal bones. They also named the new genus and species of protoceratopsid Bagaceratops rozhdestvenskyi, known from specimens of the nearby Hermiin Tsav locality. Something like 108 individual dinosaur specimens were collected by the American Museum of Natural History field teams between 1922 and 1925, all but seven of them represented Protoceratops andrewsi. In a top view they had a triangular shape and were joined by the frontals (bones of the skull roof).
A Nest of Protoceratops andrewsi (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) It lived in the Cretaceous period and inhabited Asia. This new species was based on the Khulsan material, mostly consisting of juvenile skull specimens. A group of five medium-sized and adult Protoceratops was observed at the Bayan Mandahu locality. There are two documented species: the type genus P. andrewsi and the newly named P. hellenikorhinus. The use of the frill as a displaying structure may be related to other anatomical features of Protoceratops such as the premaxillary teeth (at least for P. andrewsi) which could have been used in display or intraspecific combat, or the high neural spines of tail. He agreed with Brown and Schlaikjer in that a high, well-developed nasal horn represents a male trait and the opposite indicates females.
Protoceratops Dinosaur, Type | information - Apatosaurus fact Most bones of Protoceratops preserve a large abundance of bone fibers (including Sharpey's fibres), which likely gave strength to the organ and enhanced its elasticity. Protoceratops is largely known from both members, having P. andrewsi as a dominant and representative species in the overall formation. The last two were devoid of unguals and had a small size, mostly vestigial (retained, but without important function). The jaw morphology of Protoceratopsmore suitable for processing plant materialand its extreme abundance indicate it was not a predator, so if it was a diurnal animal, then it would have been expected to have a much smaller sclerotic ring size. The third to the sixth dorsal (thoracic) ribs were the longest ribs in the skeleton of Protoceratops, the following ribs became smaller in size as they progressed toward the end of the vertebral column. Stumper. The name Protoceratops means .
Comment amazing facts you know about protoceratops Protoceratops is a common find in the Flaming Cliffs formation, which it shared with other Dinosaurs like Velociraptor and Oviraptor. Lastly, he restored the course of the fight with the Protoceratops power-slamming the Velociraptor, which used its feet claws to damage the throat and belly regions and its hand claws to grasp the herbivore's head.
Protoceratopsidae - Wikipedia ; Utkarsh Ambudkar as Orson: A humanoid supremacist Protoceratops with a bulging brain who wants to take control of the Lost World. Protoceratops Shared its Habitat with Oviraptor. Tysice darmowych zdj i wektorw. Dinosaurios. The centra were large and predominantly amphiplatian (flat on both facets) and circular when seen from the front. The large number of vertebrate fossils found have enabled scientists to build up a detailed knowledge of the ecosystem, an ecosystem dominated by dinosaurs but one that shows the rise and diversity of mammals as well. [26], However, also during 1994, Norell and colleagues reported and briefly described a fossilized theropod embryo inside an egg (MPC-D 100/971) from the Djadokhta Formation. Jurassic VR Dinos on Cardboard para PC en el emulador de Android le permitir tener una experiencia mvil ms emocionante en una computadora con Windows. 1.4 (17 votes) Chialingosaurus kuani was a stegosaurian that lived 160 million years ago in China. [124], In 1993 the Folklorist and historian of science Adrienne Mayor of Stanford University suggested that the exquisitely preserved fossil skeletons of Protoceratops, Psittacosaurus and other beaked dinosaurs, found by ancient Scythian nomads who mined gold in the Tian Shan and Altai Mountains of Central Asia, may have been at the root of the image of the mythical creature known as the griffin.
Protoceratops - Prehistoric Wildlife [127][128], In 2016 this hypothesis was criticized by the British paleontologist and paleoartist Mark P. Witton, as it ignores pre-Greek griffin art and accounts. [9] In 1990 the Russian paleontologist Sergei Mikhailovich Kurzanov referred additional material from Hermiin Tsav to P. kozlowskii. [22] The authors Brenda J. Chinnery and Jhon R. Horner in 2007 during their description of Cerasinops stated that Bainoceratops, along with other dubious genera, was determined to be either a variant or immature specimen of other genera. Protoceratops is a dinosaur which lived around 71 million years ago during the end of the Mesozoic Period. The missing limbs of the Protoceratops were afterwards taken by scavengers.
Building a Protoceratops Habitat in Prehistoric Kingdom [13] Specimens from this locality are usually found in articulation, suggesting possible mass mortality events. [97] Dominant sediments at Djadokhta include dominant reddish-orange and pale orange to light gray, medium to fine-grained sands and sandstones, caliche, and sparse fluvial (river-deposited) processes. On the anterior caudals they were broad, however, from the twenty-fifth onwards the centra became elongated alongside the neural spines. [60], David J. Button and Lindsay E. Zanno in 2019 performed a large phylogenetic analysis based on skull biomechanical charactersprovided by 160 Mesozoic dinosaur speciesto analyze the multiple emergences of herbivory among non-avian dinosaurs. It was a large and somewhat rounded bone that complemented the curvature of the dentary. [65], In 1996 Tereshchenko reconstructed the walking model of Protoceratops where he considered the most likely scenario to be Protoceratops as an obligate quadruped given the proportions of its limbs. As a whole, the skull had four pairs of fenestrae (skull openings). Fact or Fiction. It is generally accepted that they were buried alive by either a collapsed dune or sandstorm. Protoceratops means 'first horned face' 2. [119], In 1998 during a conference abstract at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, James I. Kirkland and team reported multiple arthropod pupae casts and borings (tunnels) on a largely articulated Protoceratops specimen from Tugriken Shireh, found in 1997. A dinosaur habitat right next to rivers are floodplains. I can happily report that the Wild Past Protoceratops w/ Nest is exquisite, excellent in detail and overall shape, with a pleasantly vibrant yet realistic color pattern. Like Protoceratops, Montanoceratops and similar horned dinosaurs, Koreaceratops had a series of exceptionally long neural spines sticking up from its tail vertebrae which get progressively longer . Suppose this scenario: A member of our scientific community has discovered an alternate Earth with a recent point of departure ("recent . [81], In 2011 the first authentic nest of Protoceratops (MPC-D 100/530) from the Tugriken Shireh locality was described by David E. Fastovsky and team. Protoceratops, (genus Protoceratops), ceratopsian dinosaur found as fossils in the Gobi Desert from 80-million-year-old deposits of the Late Cretaceous Period.
Sinoceratops | Jurassic Park Wiki | Fandom He pointed out that their prominent parrot-like beaks and shearing teeth along with powerful muscles on the jaws suggest an omnivore diet instead, much like pigs, hogs, boars and entelodonts. This means they probably came out at regular times both day and night. The first block (MPC-D 100/526) comprises four juvenile individuals in close proximity with their heads pointing upwards, and the second block (MPC-D 100/534) is composed of two sub-adults with a horizontal orientation. The team stated that feeding by Velociraptor upon Protoceratops was probably a relatively common occurrence in these environments, and that this ceratopsian actively formed part of the diet of Velociraptor. [50], Furthermore, with the re-examinations of Turanoceratops in 2009 and Zuniceratopstwo critical ceratopsian taxa regarding the evolutionary history of ceratopsidsin 2010 it was concluded that the origin of ceratopsids is unrelated to, and older than the fossil record of Protoceratops and relatives. Based on previous assemblages and the two blocks, the team determined that Protoceratops was a social dinosaur that formed herds throughout its life and such herds would have varied in composition, with some including adults, sub-adults, siblings from a single nest or local members of a herd joining shortly after hatching. For instance, some specimens (e.g., holotype IMM 95BM1/1) preserve high nasal bones with a pair of horns; relatively short antorbital length; and vertically oriented nostrils. 'first horned face') is a genus of small protoceratopsid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous, around 75 to 71 million years ago.The genus Protoceratops includes two species: P. andrewsi and the larger P. hellenikorhinus.The former was described in 1923 with fossils from the Mongolian Djadokhta Formation, and the . [58] You Hailu and Peter Dodson in 2004 suggested that the premaxillary teeth of Protoceratops may have been useful for selective cropping and feeding.
Protoceratops | Additional Creatures Wiki | Fandom The pubis was the smallest element of the pelvic girdle and it had an irregular shape, although its lower end was developed into a pointed bony projection downwards. [103] Ukhaa Tolgod, a highly fossiliferous locality is also included in the Bayn Dzak member. Based on this reasoning, they excluded Bainoceratops from their phylogenetic analysis. The genus Protoceratops includes two species: P. andrewsi and the larger P. hellenikorhinus.
Oviraptor | dinosaur genus | Britannica The jugal bones also showed a trend towards an increase in relative size. The specific name, hellenikorhinus, is derived from Greek hellenikos (meaning Greek) and rhis (meaning nose) in reference to its broad and angular snout, which is reminiscent of the straight profiles of Greek sculptures. [61], Brown and Schlaikjer in 1940 upon their large description and revision of Protoceratops remarked that the orbits, frontals, and lacrimals suffered a shrinkage in relative size as the animal aged; the top border of the nostrils became more vertical; the nasal bones progressively became elongated and narrowed; and the neck frill as a whole also increases in size with age. Protoceratops were small ceratopsians, up to 22.5m (6.68.2ft) long and around 62104kg (137229lb) in body mass. The team also indicated that, while Protoceratops provides direct evidence for the formation of single cohort aggregations throughout its lifespan, it cannot be ruled out the possibility that some Protoceratops were solitary. Sowiak and team also suggested that the flat and wide hand unguals (claw bone) of Protoceratops may have been useful for moving on loose terrain (such as sand) without sinking. Both predentary and dentary had a series of foramina (small pits), the latter mostly on its anterior end. The "horn" and frill were highly variable in shape and size across individuals of the same species, but there is no evidence of sexual dimorphism. Lastly, he noted that both males and females had not significant disparity in body size, and that sexual maturity in Protoceratops could be recognised at the moment when males can be distinguished from females. a, b, Clutch assigned to the basal ceratopsian Protoceratops (a) on the basis of embryonic remains (b).The white outlined area in a corresponds to b; the arrow in b indicates one of the white, egg .
Protoceratops - Facts and Pictures He also noted that the flat and wide pedal unguals of Protoceratops may have allowed efficient walking through loose terrain, such as sand which was common on its surroundings. In 1900 Henry Fairfield Osborn suggested that Central Asia may have been the center of origin of most animal species, including humans, which caught the attention of explorer and zoologist Roy Chapman Andrews. It actually reminds me quite a bit of the standalone Mini Carnegie Protoceratops I . Like the neighbouring Bayn Dzak, this new locality contained an abundance of Protoceratops fossils. . The researchers analyzed new, embryo-bearing egg fossils ascribed to the dinosaurs Protoceratops and Mussaurus. The researchers focused on the mineral and chemical compositions of the . Most individuals are preserved with their forelimbs splayed and hindlimbs are extended, an arrangement that suggests that young Protoceratops tried to push against the powerful airstream in the initially loose sand. [129], AMNH 6418 specimen with possible skin impressions (left), and line diagram of footprint associated with specimen ZPAL Mg D-II/3 (right), Forelimb (top), pelvic (middle), and hindlimb fossil bones (bottom) of specimen ZPAL Mg D-II/3, Fossil cast of the Fighting Dinosaurs specimen (left) and life restoration of same depicting the fight (right), Last edited on 17 February 2023, at 01:55, List of dinosaur specimens with documented taphonomic histories, "Protoceratops andrewsi, a pre-ceratopsian dinosaur from Mongolia", "Three new Theropoda, Protoceratops zone, central Mongolia", "The Structure and Relationships of Protoceratops", "On Protoceratops, a primitive ceratopsian dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Mongolia", "Narrative of the Polish-Mongolian Palaeontological Expeditions, 1967-1971", "The Russian-Mongolian expeditions and research in vertebrate palaeontology", "Djadokhta Formation correlative strata in Chinese Inner Mongolia: an overview of the stratigraphy, sedimentary geology, and paleontology and comparisons with the type locality in the pre-Altai Gobi", "A nest of Protoceratops andrewsi (Dinosauria, Ornithischia)", "A New Mass Mortality of Juvenile Protoceratops and Size-Segregated Aggregation Behaviour in Juvenile Non-Avian Dinosaurs", " ", "The fossil record, systematics and evolution of pachycephalosaurs and ceratopsians from Asia", "A Montanoceratops cerorhynchus (Dinosauria: Ceratopsia) Braincase from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation of Alberta", "Ontogeny and variation of a protoceratopsid dinosaur Bagaceratops rozhdestvenskyi from the Late Cretaceous of the Gobi Desert", "A new Species of Protoceratops (Dinosauria, Neoceratopsia) from the Late Cretaceous of Inner Mongolia (P. R. China)", "The First Discovery of the Late Cretaceous Protoceratopsid Fauna from Alxa, Inner Mongolia, China", "Bainoceratops efremovi, a New Protoceratopid Dinosaur (Protoceratopidae, Neoceratopsia) from the Bain-Dzak Locality (South Mongolia)", "Yamaceratops dorngobiensis, a New Primitive Ceratopsian (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Cretaceous of Mongolia", 10.1206/0003-0082(2006)3530[1:YDANPC]2.0.CO;2, "A new neoceratopsian dinosaur linking North American and Asian taxa", 10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[625:ANNDLN]2.0.CO;2, "The microstructures of the dinosaurian eggshells of Nanxiong Basin, Guandong province. To accommodate this equipment, the skull of Protoceratops was almost comically large compared to the rest of its body, giving it a distinctly "top .
Diabloceratops - Wikipedia The former was described in 1923 with fossils from the Mongolian Djadokhta Formation, and the latter in 2001 with fossils from the Chinese Bayan Mandahu Formation. This feeding method was likely more efficient in protoceratopsids as the enamel surface of Protoceratops was coarsely-textured and the tips of the micro-serrations developed on the basis of the teeth, probably helping to crumble vegetation. [12], In 2017 Gregory M. Erickson and colleagues determined the incubation periods of P. andrewsi and Hypacrosaurus by using lines of arrested growth (LAGS; lines of growth) of the teeth in embryonic specimens (Protoceratops egg clutch MPC-D 100/1021). [5][39], The pelvic girdle was formed by the ilium, pubis, and ischium. This footprint was described in 2012 by Grzegorz Niedwiedzki and colleagues who considered it to represent one of the first reported finds of a dinosaur footprint in association with an articulated skeleton, and also the first one reported for Protoceratops. The main gait of Protoceratops was probably trot-like mostly using its hindlimbs and it is unlikely to have used an asymmetric gait. [43] Although similar in overall body size, the latter had a relatively greater skull length. The ulna was a rather short bone with a straight shape. Due to the . Although ceratopsians have been found all over the world, protoceratopsids are only definitively known from Cretaceous strata in Asia, with most specimens found in China and Mongolia.As ceratopsians, protoceratopsids were herbivorous, with constantly replacing tooth batteries made for slicing . The co-workers also noted that the Fox Site Protoceratops preserves associated traces in the encasing sediment, indicative of necrophagous activity after the animal was buried. [32], Osmlska in 1993 proposed another two hypotheses in order to explain their preservation. First group includes individuals with a well-developed bony ridge on the lateral surface of the squamosal bone, and the posterior border of the squamosal is backwards oriented. He suggested another scenario where the multiple wounds delivered by the Velociraptor on the Protoceratops throat had the latter animal bleeding to death. This low-browsing method would have allowed to feed on foliage and fruits within range, and large basal ceratopsians may have consumed tougher seeds or plant material not available to smaller basal ceratopsians. Forms without the enormous horns and frills of Triceratops, in the family Protoceratopsidae, include the Mongolian genus Protoceratops and the unusual bipedal, frill-less dinosaur Psittacosaurus ("parrot-lizard"). They had a short but powerful tail and walked on four thick legs weighing up to 11,000 kg (24,250 pounds) and could reach up to 9m (30 feet) in length and 3m (10 feet) in height. [69], Gregory and Mook in 1925 suggested that Protoceratops was partially aquatic because of its large feetbeing larger than the handsand the very long neural spines found in the caudal (tail) vertebrae. The holotype (IMM 95BM1/1) and paratype (IMM 96BM1/4) specimens consist of large skulls lacking body remains. Saneyoshi and team emphasized that the high frequency of feeding traces at the limb joints of numerous specimens and reports of previous studies, indicates that small animals may have targeted the collagen found in the joint cartilage of dried dinosaur carcasses as a source of nitrogen, which was low in the desert-dry conditions of these dinosaur fossils. Diet: herbivorous Teeth: shearing and grinding teeth with a horny beak at the front Food: plant material How it moved: on 4 legs When it lived: [68], In 2011 during the description of Koreaceratops, Yuong-Nam Lee and colleagues found the above swimming hypotheses hard to prove based on the abundance of Protoceratops in eolian (wind-deposited) sediments that were deposited in prominent arid environments. The examined pupae from the specimen are more cylindrical structures with rounded ends. The results suggests a mean embryonic tooth replacement period of 30.68 days and relatively plesiomorphically (ancestral-shared) long incubation times for P. andrewsi, with a minimum incubation time of 83.16 days. You would be forgiven for having never heard of it, not many have. . Frambenen var ungefr 30% kortare n bakbenen, [ 3] vilket . Based on the size of its sclerotic ring, Protoceratops had an unusually large eyeball among protoceratopsids. ; Justina Machado as Zee: A striped polecat who was a former member of Buck's superhero team. Results also support the general hypothesis that the neck frill of ceratopsians functioned as a socio-sexual signal structure. Kosmoceratops is a dinosaur that was discovered in Utah in the United States. [47] The fossilized footprint associated with the specimen ZPAL Mg D-II/3 described by Niedwiedzki in 2012 indicates that Protoceratops was digitigrade, meaning that it walked with its toes supporting the body weight. Below is the obtained cladogram, showing the position of Protoceratops and Bagaceratops:[54], Longrich and team in 2010 indicated that highly derived morphology of P. hellenikorhinuswhen compared to P. andrewsiindicates that this species may represent a lineage of Protoceratops that had a longer evolutionary history compared to P. andrewsi, or simply a direct descendant of P. andrewsi. This elongation started from the first to the fourteenth caudal. [1] Although not stated in the original description, the generic name, Protoceratops, is intended to mean "first horned face" as it was believed that Protoceratops represented an early ancestor of ceratopsids.
Dinosaur Posters Classroom Research Science Display Decor Bulletin Board The first known remains of P. hellenikorhinus were collected from the Bayan Mandahu locality of the Bayan Mandahu Formation, Inner Mongolia, in 1995 and 1996 during Sino-Belgian paleontological expeditions. Obtained results indicated that other than the nasal hornwhich remained as the only skull trait with potential sexual dimorphismall previously suggested characters to differentiate hyphotetical males from females were more linked to ontogenic changes and intraspecific variation independent of sex, most notably the neck frill. The coracoids were relatively elliptical, and sometimes coosified (fused) to the scapulae. Chevrons three to nine were the largest and from the tenth onwards they became smaller. The flexed position of most buried Protoceratops is indicative of desiccation and shrinking of ligaments/tendons in the legs, necks, and tails after death. [19] Both species can be differentiated by the following characteristics: The skull of Protoceratops was relatively large compared to its body and robustly built. Protoceratops is the one dinosaur that every fossil hunting expedition finds in Mongolia. The Protoceratops bit the right hand of the predator, implying that it was unable to escape. One specimen (MPC-D 100/551B) was shown to present skull traits that are intermediate between Bagaceratops rozhdestvenskyi (which is native to adjacent Bayan Mandahu and Barun Goyot) and P. andrewsi. Populations of P. andrewsi may have evolved into Bagaceratops through anagenesis. The second point was explained on the basis of the already derived anatomy in protoceratopsids like Bagaceratops or Protoceratops (such as the jaw morphology). Hung Nguyen Architects designed and built the Pavilion of Origins, a greenery-draped structure that uses living plants to purify the air. Protoceratops Habitat & Entrance | Andros | Prehistoric Kingdom SpeedbuildDon't forget to leave a like and/or comment if you enjoyed the video!-----. [36], Also from the context of the Polish-Mongolian paleontological expeditions, in 1965 an articulated subadult Protoceratops skeleton (specimen ZPAL Mg D-II/3) was collected from the Bayn Dzak locality of the Djadokhta Formation. The specific name, andrewsi, is in honor of Andrews for his prominent leadership during the expeditions. However, now [] The habitat for a Protoceratops was originally thought to be swamps and forests.
Exploring a Dinosaur Habitat: 15 Places You've Yet to See [51][52] In most recent/modern phylogenetic analyses Protoceratops and Bagaceratops are commonly recovered as sister taxa, leaving the interpretations proposing direct relationships with more derived ceratopsians unsupported. Protoceratops are dinosaurs confirmed to appear in Additional Creatures: Endemics. 5). He proposed that protoceratopsids moved through water using their laterally-flattened tails as a paddle to aid in swimming. Even though their respective skull anatomy had substantial differences, their postcranial skeleton was virtually the same. However, they suggested that authentic differences between sexes could be still present in the postcranial skeleton. [68], In 2019 Victoria M. Arbour and David C. Evans cited the robusticity of the ulna of Ferrisaurus as a useful feature for digging, which may have been also true for Protoceratops. Such use of the frill may suggest that intraspecific social behavior was highly important for Protoceratops. The parietals were the posteriormost bones of the skull and major elements of the frill. The centra (centrum; body of the vertebrae) of the first three cervicals were coossified together (atlas, axis and third cervical respectively) creating a rigid structure. The first chevron was located at the union of the third and fourth caudals. The coronoid (highest point of the lower jaw) was blunt-shaped and touched by the coronoid process of the dentary, being obscured by the jugal. As the latter type of sediments is also found in the Bayan Mandahu Formation, it is likely that P. hellenikorhinus preferred environments combining humid and arid conditions.
How to Turn Protoceratops Into a Real-Live Griffin [12], Hone and colleagues in 2014 indicated that two assemblages of Protoceratops at Tugriken Shireh (MPC-D 100/526 and 100/534) suggest that individuals died simultaneously, rather than accumulating over time. Individuals within this assemblage were lying on their bellies with their heads facing upwards, side by side parallel-aligned, and inclined about 21 degrees from the horizontal plane. [8][32] In the 1960s and early 1970s, many Polish-Mongolian paleontological expeditions were conducted to the Gobi Desert with the objective of fossil findings. [1] Gregory and Charles C. Mook in 1925 upon a more deeper analysis of Protoceratops and its overall morphology, concluded that this taxon represents a ceratopsian more primitive than ceratopsids and not an ankylosaur-ceratopsian ancestor. Although it lacked the horns of later species, Protoceratops had a distinct bump above its nostrils and thickened bone over its eye sockets.