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Psittacosaurus

By Bob Strauss, About.com

A Psittacosaurus family (Wikimedia Commons)

Name:

Psittacosaurus (Greek for "parrot lizard"); pronounced sih-tack-oh-SORE-us

Habitat:

Scrublands and deserts of Asia

Historical Period:

Early to middle Cretaceous (120 to 100 million years ago)

Size and Weight:

About 3 to 6 feet long and 50 to 175 pounds (depending on species)

Diet:

Plants

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Short, blunt head with curved beak; small horns on cheeks

About Psittacosaurus:

As you can guess from its name, what set Psittacosaurus apart from other dinosaurs of the Cretaceous period was its distinctly un-dinosaur-like head. Its curved beak made it somewhat reminiscent of a parrot, but otherwise, its squat noggin was distinctly tortoise-like.

Although it's often depicted in a four-legged stance, paleontologists think some species of Psittacosaurus (there are at least 10 known varieties) walked or ran bipedally. This dinosaur seems to have led a relatively quiet life, although the horns on its face indicate that the males may have engaged in combat with each other for the right to mate.

By the way, you wouldn't know it from its appearance, but Psittacosaurus was a member of the ceratopsians--horned, frilled dinosaurs like Triceratops, Protoceratops, and Styracosaurus.

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