Psittacosaurus

“parrot lizard”

CLASSIFICATION

Psittacosaurus  Osborn, 1923TYPE SPECIES: P. mongoliensis Osborn, 1923 “parrot lizard from Mongolia” OTHER SPECIES: P. mazongshanensis Xu, 1997 P. meileyingensis Sereno, Zhao, Zheng & Rao, 1988 P. neimongoliensis D. A. Russell & Zhao, 1996 P. ordosensis D. A. Russell & Zhao, 1996 P. sattayaraki Buffetaut & Suteethorn, 1992 P. sinensis Young, 1958 “parrot lizard from China” P. sp. P. xinjiangensis Sereno & Zhao, 1988 MISASSIGNED SPECIES: P. chaoyangi Wang, 1983 [nomen nudum] “parrot lizard from Chaoyang County” == Chaoyangsaurus youngi P. guyangensis Zheng, 1983 == P. mongoliensis P. osborni Young, 1931 “Henry F.  Osborn’s parrot lizard” == P. mongoliensis P. protiguandonensis Young, 1958 “parrot lizard from before Iguanodon“ == P. mongoliensis P. tingi Young, 1931 == P. osborni P. youngi Zhao, 1962 == P. sinensis

Animalia Vertebrata Tetrapoda Sauropsida Archosauromorpha Ornithodira Dinosauria Ornithischia Ceratopsia

see also: Genus Index, Classification

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MEASUREMENTS

LENGTH: 80 cm to 2 m

MASS: 25 kg

see also: World Records

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TIME

Aptian to Albian

P. sp.: Early Cretaceous

P. mongoliensis: Aptian

P. meileyingensis: late Aptian

see also: Ages of the Mesozoic

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PLACE

P. mongoliensis: China, Mongolia

P. mazongshanensis: China

P. meileyingensis: China

P. sattayaraki: Thailand

P. sinensis: China

P. sp.: Mongolia

P. xinjiangensis: China

see also: Paleo-Maps

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REMAINS

• P.mongoliensis
  • remains from over 85 individuals
• P.mazongshanensis
  • skull, vertebrae, forelimb, gastrolith impressions
• P.meileyingensis
  • 4 specimens (2 with complete skulls)
• P.neimongoliensis
  • nearly complete skeleton
• P.ordosensis
  • nearly complete skeleton
• P.sattayaraki
  • dentary, maxilla fragment
• P.sinensis
  • material from over 20 individuals
• P. sp.
  • partial skull, articulated skeleton with gastroliths
• P.xinjiangensis
  • material from over 10 individuals

see also: Anatomy

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ESSAY

Psittacosaurus was originally classified in Ornithopoda, mainly due to its bipedal stance. One specimen was actually named Protiguanodon (“before Iguanodon“, Iguanodon being a typical ornithopod). But Psittacosaurus was soon recognized as being closer to ceratopsids than ornithopods. In fact, it represents a transitional phase from early, ornithopod-like ornithischians to the large, mostly quadrupedal neoceratopsians.This genus has more valid species than any other non-neornithean dinosaur. Some think it should be split into more genera, although there have been no formal proposals.

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IMAGES

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