The Leptoceratops was a small, strange-looking Cerapoda with a famous cousin. It lived in parts of Canada and Western North America. As a part-time quadruped, it sometimes shifted its weight onto its back legs to flee from predators.
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Some Quick Facts about the leptoceratops
Name | Leptoceratops, or Leptoceratops Gracilis (thin-horned face) |
Type of dinosaur | Ceratopsian |
Territory | Grassy wetlands with plenty of vegetation in North America |
Size | Medium size, 6 feet long and 2 feet tall |
Color | Green with scaly skin |
Interesting Characteristics | It was able to run on two legs, a close relative of the Triceratops |
Diet | Plant matter |
Major Threats | Larger dinosaurs, natural disasters |
How Big Was Leptoceratops?
With a length of around 6 feet, the Leptoceratops was about as long as a refrigerator lying on its side. It weighed about 220 pounds, around the same size as a black bear. While it seems like a large creature, it was surprisingly small for a late cretaceous dino. Dinosaurs in the late Cretaceous period grew enormous, but the Leptoceratops were small and stout.
How did the Leptoceratops walk?
Leptoceratops were quadrupedal, meaning they walked on all four legs. But what makes the Leptoceratops so unique is that it didn’t walk on all four legs all the time. It walked on all four legs when peacefully walking along riverbanks, looking for a tasty fern or conifer.
Its very short forelimbs made it easy to stand on its hind legs. When it spotted a predator, it shifted its weight back on its hind legs and reached some pretty high speed to flee from theropod!
What Was the Purpose of the Frill on a Leptoceratops?
Looking closely, you can see a very small frill on the Leptoceratops. It’s not as flashy as the frill on its Ornithischia cousins, but it’s there. For most Ceratopsia dinos, paleontology believes that the frill was used to protect the most vulnerable part of the dino from predators: the neck. The neck frill of the Leptoceratops was very small and didn’t serve much for protection.
What Did Leptoceratops Eat?
The Leptoceratops was an herbivore, which meant that it ate only plants. It had a beak-like snout and leaf-shaped teeth that it used to snap the leaves off local plants. Because the Leptoceratops ate only plants, they lived in areas of North America with lush vegetation.
If you traveled back to the Maastrichtian age, you would likely find Leptoceratops nibbling on ferns, cycads, and conifers along the edges of rivers and lakes.
Where Did the Leptoceratops Live?
While the Leptoceratops were North American dinosaurs, paleontologists discovered most fossil records in modern-day Canada. Paleontologists believe the Leptoceratops lived in Canada and parts of Wyoming and Montana.
The very first fossil records of the Leptoceratops were uncovered by paleontologist Barnum Brown in what is now known as Alberta, Canada, at the Red Deer River. Later, more fossils were found in the Hell Creek Formation and Lance Formation in Montana.
In the Maastrichtian age, Canada was rich in vegetation, perfect for Ceratopsian dinosaurs like the Leptoceratops.
5 fun facts about Leptoceratops
- The Leptoceratops had a famous cousin. Can you guess who it is? It was a Triceratops! These two dinosaurs lived at the same time in the late Cretaceous period in North America and likely passed each other while chomping down on plants. The Triceratops was a more evolved horned dinosaur when compared to the smaller, hornless Leptoceratops.
- The Leptoceratops had unique “hands.” Other Ceratopian dinos, like the Triceratops, had front limbs that faced down, like an elephant. The Leptoceratops, however, had forelimbs that faced inward, which made it easy to grab onto branches or plants.
- Few Leptoceratops fossils exist. Few fossil remains show these dinos stayed high in the mountains. Living in the mountains helps protect them from predators. It also meant that their fossils didn’t preserve very well over millions of years.
- It had a leaf-shaped tail. The tail of the Leptoceratops was flat and thick with small spines. It could use its large tail to keep its balance like a tripod when walking around on two legs.
- Cows destroyed many Leptoceratops fossils. A few fragments of Leptoceratops fossils were found on an old cattle trail in Alberta, Canada. Unfortunately, the cows stomped over and destroyed many of the Leptoceratops’ fossils.