Leptoceratops

LEP-to-SAIR-ah-tops

Learn Before You Go

Scientific Name: Leptoceratops
Pronunciation: LEP-to-SAIR-ah-tops
Name Means: Lean-horned face
Diet: Herbivore
Fossils Found: Wyoming and Alberta, Canada
Wikipedia: Leptoceratops

Different Strokes

While there is no evidence to tell us what color Leptoceratops actually were, the females in this exhibit are painted in a more muted pattern than the males and the juveniles are more camouflaged than the adults. These color trends are commonly found in animals alive today.

There isn't much evidence to show what juvenile Leptoceratops looked like, so the models here are based on Protoceratops fossils. Notice the frills of the juveniles are proportionally smaller. The frills become more pronounced as the dinosaurs start to reach adulthood, which may indicate that the frills are used to communicate to other adults when searching for a mate. The fossil evidence also shows that the eyes of juveniles were proportionally larger which is also common in animals alive today.

Some paleontologists are challenging the idea that some ornithischian dinosaurs, such as Leptoceratops, had cheeks.

Cheeks or Beaks?

For a long time it was believed that Leptoceratops had large fleshy, muscular cheeks - important for chewing their plant-based diet, much like sheep today. However, further study of their jaw bones suggests they may have actually had an extended beak instead, similar to the beaks on eagles. Paleontologists have also discovered dinosaur "mummies" with preserved skin impressions, and maybe one day a specimen preserving the skin near the mouth will be found and help resolve this debate.