Yamaceratops

Name:

Yamaceratops (Greek for "Yama horned face"); pronounced YAM-ah-SER-ah-tops

Habitat:

Woodlands of Asia

Historical Period:

Middle Cretaceous (100 million years ago)

Size and Weight:

About 6 feet long; weight unknown

Diet:

Plants

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Small size; short frill

About Yamaceratops:

Although it's fairly obscure, Yamaceratops (named after the Buddhist deity Yama, not after the sweet potato) is important for two reasons. First, this ceratopsian--a member of the same family that later gave rise to Triceratops--lived in Asia, whereas later ceratopsians were confined to North America. And second, Yamaceratops prospered tens of millions of years before its more famous descendants.

Considering its early place on the ceratopsian evolutionary tree, it's easy to understand Yamaceratops' short, primitive frill (compared to the huge productions of later dinosaurs like Chasmosaurus) and its relatively small size.