Psittacosaurus | Facts & Information

Psittacosaurus (Psittacosaurus mongoliensis) is a prehistoric herbivorous animal that lived in the Mesozoic era, in the Lower Cretaceous. Its name comes from its curved and powerful beak, which resembles that of a modern-day parrot.

Several young fossilized specimens have been found of this species, one of which was less than 25 cm, considered the smallest dinosaur to be discovered on the surface of the Earth. As for the large specimens, they have helped paleontologists estimate the length of this species of dinosaurs as about 2 m and weight up to 25 kg.

The skull of this dinosaur was short and compact, the beak had a rectangular shape and was provided with a horny edge. Its not very large jaws did not have teeth in the front, only in the back were provided with powerful masses, used for grinding plants.

The Psittacosaurus had a bipedal gait, especially when it had to reach the branches of tall trees, which it pulled towards it with its front limbs to feed on their tender leaves. The forelimbs had four long toes, covered with scaly skin and provided with sharp, hard and slightly curved claws.

This allowed him to easily grab and hold the branches of trees near him. Also, the paws of the forelimbs were equipped with Horn pads, which shows that it could also move on all four limbs, especially when eating plants from the ground.

The hind limbs were much larger and more muscular, with fingers that also had powerful claws, adapted to run and hold the full weight of the body. While walking, the thick, long tail helps maintain balance, and at rest as a third hind limb supporting the ground.

Some fossils discovered, very small and well ossified, showed that these dinosaurs cared for their young for a long time, they remained in the nest for a long time until the ossification of the bones well. But others – certain skeletons of chickens with blunt teeth-showed that there were also chicks that after hatching were forced to fend for themselves, without the help of parents.

The histological analysis of some specimens of Psittacosaurus mongoliensis has estimated the growth rate of these dinosaurs. Thus, puppies at about 3 years weighed about 1 kg, and the life span was 10-11 years.

Psittacosaurus belongs to the order Ornithieschia and the family Psittacosauridae.

This family includes a total of 12 species, namely:

P. mangoliensis,

P. meileyingensis,

P. sinensis,

P. neimongoliensis,

P. xinjiangensis,

P. mazongshanensis,

P. ordosensis,

P lujiatunensis,

P. gobiensis,

P. major

P. sattayaraki (whose fossils were discovered in Thailand).

Psittacosaurus Feed

It lived in desert and semi-desert areas, where it fed on stiffer plant material, or the hard kernels of some fruit, which it shredded with its strong, curved beak.