Protoceratops fossil map
Where fossils of Protoceratops have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 75 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 75 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Horned & dome-headed dinosaurs |
|---|---|
| Lived | 121.4–72.2 million years ago (Aptian to Campanian) |
| Periods | Cretaceous |
| Family | Protoceratopsidae |
| Named by | Granger and Gregory 1923 |
| Fossil records | 38 occurrences at 26 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Mongolia, China |
| Rock formations | Djadokhta, Bayan Mandahu, Baruungoyot, txn:38845, Miaogou, Alagteeg |
About Protoceratops
Protoceratops (; lit. 'first horned face') is a genus of small protoceratopsid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous, around 75 to 71 million years ago. The genus Protoceratops includes two species: P. andrewsi and the larger P. hellenikorhinus. The former was described in 1923 with fossils from the Mongolian Djadokhta Formation, and the latter in 2001 with fossils from the Chinese Bayan Mandahu Formation. Protoceratops was initially believed to be an ancestor of ankylosaurians and larger ceratopsians, such as Triceratops and relatives, until the discoveries of other protoceratopsids. Populations of P. andrewsi may have evolved into Bagaceratops rozhdestvenskyi through anagenesis.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Protoceratops (revision 1377334120), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 22 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in.
