# Protoceratops (Protoceratops andrewsi) — DinoLand

> Field Journal — free dinosaur encyclopedia: 33 species with photos and video, catalog, ancient world maps (Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Gondwana), quiz, and paleontology glossary.

### id=28: Protoceratops (Protoceratops andrewsi)

- URL: https://www.dinoland.ai/species.html?lang=en&id=28
- Diet: Herbivore
- Era: Cretaceous
- Period: 75–71 million years ago
- Length: 2 m
- Weight: ≈180 кг
- Height: 1 m
- Speed: ≈25 km/h
- Habitat: Eolian dune fields interrupted by oases
- Region: Mongolia (Gobi Desert)
- Discovered: 1923, Roy Chapman Andrews’s Central Asiatic Expeditions

Fact: “The ‘Fighting Dinosaurs’ antagonist—desert frills without long brow horns.”

Description: Protoceratops proliferated across the Nemegt predecessor dunes of the Gobi, sporting a broad frill but lacking the elongate horns of ceratopsids. Nesting traces show attentive brooding behaviors. Its frequent role as Velociraptor prey underscores complex predator–prey coevolution on arid Late Cretaceous landscapes.

Features:
  - A tall parietal frill absorbed lateral bending during intraspecific shoving
  - Clutch-bearing nests imply extended parental attendance
  - Sandy facies entombed animals in spectacular attitudes

Related genera: Triceratops, Centrosaurus, Leptoceratops


## Citation

Field Journal — Dinosaur Encyclopedia — https://www.dinoland.ai

Web: https://www.dinoland.ai/species.html?lang=en&id=28
Index: https://www.dinoland.ai/llms-en.txt