In the Upper Cretaceous Period, about 83 million years ago lived the dinosaur Bagaceratops – a primitive specimen of the ceratopside group – which had the small body size of about 1 m, height of 50 cm and weight of about 25 kg.
Viewed as a whole this dinosaur bears many similarities to its close relative Protoceratops – which lived in the same period and in the same area. Both had a triangular skull, and the snout ended with a horn-like beak with sharp edges, but devoid of teeth. The back of the jaws featured numerous masses with which the stronger plants were shredded.
Unlike Protoceratops at Bagaceratops the triangular shaped Bone Shield as a slightly thickened ridge that extended to the posterior part of the skull was much smaller and had no skin-covered orifices. It also had a small horn above its snout, the exact role of which is not known. Such a slightly larger and sharper Horn also appeared in the avaceratops dinosaur that populated the forested areas and water banks in the same period of the Upper Cretaceous.
The forelimbs and hind limbs were equally robust, perfectly adapted to support the weight of the animal in its quadrupedal gait, and the long, stiff and thick tail was always held in a horizontal position. Paws were robust ending with thick fingers and hoofed claws.
His eyes were large, positioned on the sides of his head, giving him a panoramic view of the surroundings, but his rather small body size and slow gait made him an easy prey for the huge predators that lived in those times. The worst enemy of this peaceful Bagaceratops was the ruthless Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Its fossil remains were discovered by Mongolian and Polish researchers who made an expedition in 1970 in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. Based on fossil studies, paleontologists Teresa Maryanska and Halszka Osmolska have made a detailed description of this species.
Later the dinosaur was named Bagaceratops rozhdestvensky in honor of palontologist A. K. Rozhdestvensky. Most of the fossils are on display at the Warsaw Institute of paleobiology in Poland. In total, 20 partial and 5 complete skulls were discovered, the largest of which is about. 17 cm long and the smallest 4.7 cm. These are testimony to the life cycle of this dinosaur and the anatomy of the species.
Food Bagaceratops
This prehistoric animal populated the arid areas with poor vegetation, from the territory where now Mongolia is located, and fed like any herbivore with various species of plants, especially primitive Ferns, conifers, flowering plants.
