ceratopsian

American  

[ser-uh-top-see-uhn] / ˌsɛr əˈtɒp si ən /

noun

1. any of several four-footed, herbivorous dinosaurs of the suborder Ceratopsia, of the late Cretaceous Period, having an enlarged skull with a beak, a large perforated frill at the back, and, in some species, one or three horns.

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ceratopsian Scientific  

/ sĕr′ə-tŏp′sē-ən /

1. Any of various dinosaurs of the group Ceratopsia of the late Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. Ceratopsians were ornithischians characterized by skulls with a parrotlike beak, a broad bony frill extending back over the neck, and often one or more horns. Most ceratopsians walked on all fours and grew to medium or large size. Triceratops was a ceratopsian.

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Etymology

Origin of ceratopsian

First recorded in 1905–10; from New Latin Ceratopsi(a) ( cerat-, -opsis, -ia ) + -an

Example Sentences

Bisticeratops was a horned, plant-eating dinosaur, or ceratopsian, from the same group as the famous triceratops, with an estimated body length of about 18 feet.

From Washington Post • Sep. 3, 2022

Behrensmeyer, an expert on fossil preservation, says the ceratopsian fossils suggest those animals were present on the landscape in the weeks or months before impact.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 22, 2021

Dino Hunters With winter looming, Clayton and Luke race to excavate two massive triceratops skulls, while the Harris-Bolan crew searches for a missing femur from their rare ceratopsian.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 3, 2021

Perhaps more important, each of the skeletons may be a new kind of dinosaur — a Nanotyrannus lancensis, a type of pygmy T. rex, and a Chasmosaurine ceratopsian, a close relation of the Triceratops.

From New York Times • Jul. 29, 2013

If ceratopsian horns evolved within the context of sexual selection, how do we explain their reduction and loss in some lineages?

From Scientific American • Jan. 5, 2012