Sinoceratops zhuchengensis

Sinoceratops zhuchengensis was a large centrosaurine from the Upper Cretaceous Wangshi Group of Shandong. Its 2010 description provided the first secure ceratopsid record outside North America and changed ideas about the group’s geographic history. The known fossils are skull material rather than complete skeletons, but they reveal an unusual combination: a modest nasal horn, rough bosses above the eyes and nose, and many robust ornaments around a broad frill.

Its fossils occur between approximately 74 and 72 million years ago. Values shown here are approximate and reflect the current curated seed dataset.

The holotype skull was estimated at about 1.8 metres long. At least ten strongly curved horn-like processes line the rear edge of the parietals and at least four more occur on each squamosal. Broad-based marginal ossifications, low bosses over the eyes and nose, and an accessory opening in front of the reduced antorbital fenestra distinguish the skull. The body is reconstructed from other ceratopsids because no comparably complete postcranial skeleton has been described.

• Skull estimated at about 1.8 metres long
• At least ten robust curved processes along the rear parietal margin
• At least four horn-like ornaments on each squamosal
• Low nasal horn and roughened bosses above the nose and eyes
• Accessory opening in front of the antorbital fenestra
• Broad-based marginal frill ossifications

A large quarry opened near Zangjiazhuang, Zhucheng, in 2008 and produced abundant dinosaur bones, mostly hadrosaur material, together with distinctive ceratopsid skull pieces. Xing Xu, Kebai Wang, Xijin Zhao and Dunjing Li named Sinoceratops zhuchengensis in 2010. The holotype, ZCDM V0010, is a partial skull held by the Zhucheng Dinosaur Museum; ZCDM V0011 and V0012 preserve additional cranial material.

Discovery credit: Zhucheng field teams.

Naming authors: Xing Xu, Kebai Wang, Xijin Zhao, Dunjing Li.

The Zhucheng deposits record a river-influenced coastal plain in eastern Asia. Sinoceratops lived alongside giant hadrosaurs such as Shantungosaurus and large predators including Zhuchengtyrannus. The displayed age range is intentionally broad because correlation within the Wangshi Group remains less precise than for many North American ceratopsid sites.

Its beak and dental batteries identify a plant eater capable of cropping and slicing tough vegetation. The conspicuous frill border and facial bosses probably had a visual role, although defence and physical interaction cannot be excluded. Several skulls show the animal was not represented by only one individual, but they do not demonstrate permanent herding or a particular social system.

• It was the first securely identified ceratopsid named from outside North America.
• The holotype skull was estimated to measure roughly 1.8 metres.
• Its frill carried more small horn-like ornaments than most familiar centrosaurines.
• The species name refers to Zhucheng, the Chinese city near the fossil site.

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1. 01
   First ceratopsid dinosaur from China and its biogeographical implications

   Xing Xu, Kebai Wang, Xijin Zhao, Dunjing Li · Chinese Science Bulletin 55(16), 1631–1635 · 2010

   Open source
2. 02
   First ceratopsid dinosaur from China (author manuscript)

   Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

   Open source