Sinoceratops is a ceratopsid ceratopsian marginocephalian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of China. It was named in 2010 by Xu Xing and his crew. It was an incredible find, as it is the only ceratopsid known from anywhere outside of North America.
Physiology[]
Sinoceratops had the standard centrosaurine ceratopsid body plan, with a bulky body, 4 erect legs, a moderately short tail held low to the ground, a large head with a beaked mouth, and a shield-like, bony frill right on the back of its head, and a conical horn on its nose. Its body would have been covered in scaly skin.
Diet[]
Sinoceratops was an herbivore, feeding on plants low to the ground. Its pointed beak was used to grab pieces of vegetation and pluck them, while the many teeth in the back of its mouth would process the vegetation.
Ecology[]
So far, all we know about Sinoceratops is that its horn and frill were used for display, and males could have possibly engaged in flank-butting contests during the mating season.
In popular culture[]
Sinoceratops was featured in the 2018 science fiction movie Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, where it is simply featured as an ambient animal for most of the time; its biggest moment in the movie features it getting in a fight with a Carnotaurus, and knocking the belligerent abelisaur to the ground before running off. Originally, it was supposed to appear as a Pachyrhinosaurus; however, due to public outcry on how the Jurassic World design bore no resemblance to the real dinosaur, the dinosaur's name was changed to Sinoceratops.