What is Psittacosaurus?
{{italictitle}} {{Taxobox | name = ''Psittacosaurus'' | fossil_range = [[Lower Cretaceous]] | image = Psittacosaurus mongoliensis skeleton.JPG | image_width = 220px | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | classis = [[Sauropsida]] | superordo = [[Dinosauria]] | ordo = [[Ornithischia]] | subordo = [[Cerapoda]] | infraordo = [[Ceratopsia]] | familia = [[Psittacosauridae]] | genus = '''''Psittacosaurus''''' | genus_authority = [[Henry Fairfield Osborn|Osborn]], 1923}} '''''Psittacosaurus''''' was a small [[ceratopsian]] [[dinosaur]] from the [[Lower Cretaceous]]. It lived in what is now [[Asia]], about 130 to 100 million years ago. It was more [[basal]] than other members of the Ceratopsia: it was [[bipedal]], and had no [[horn (anatomy)|horns]] or [[frill]] on its head. What made it a ceratopsian was its [[beak]]. It is the most [[species]]-rich dinosaur [[genus]], but there is no general agreement on these species. Nine to eleven species are named for [[fossil]]s found in different regions of [[China]], [[Mongolia]] and [[Russia]], with a possible additional species from [[Thailand]]. All species of ''Psittacosaurus'' were [[gazelle]]-sized bipedal [[herbivore]]s with a high, powerful [[beak]] on the upper jaw. At least one species had long, [[quill]]-like structures on its tail and lower back, possibly with a display function. Psittacosaurs were early ceratopsians. They developed [[adaptation]]s of their own, but they also shared features with later ceratopsians, such as ''[[Protoceratops]]'' and the [[elephant]]-sized ''[[Triceratops]]''. [[Category:Ceratopsids]] [[Category:Feathered dinosaurs]]