Dino card No. 1032 of 2,027

Leptoceratops

Say it: lep-toh-SER-ah-tops

Name means: “small horn face”1

Ate: PlantsHorned dinosLate Cretaceous

Leptoceratops was a tiny horned dinosaur that lived at the very end of the Age of Dinosaurs. It had a small frill on its head and no horns, and it walked on two legs. Even though it was small, it was a tough plant-eater that lived alongside giants like Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus.1

Lived

72 to 66 million years ago6

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Alberta, Canada and Montana and Wyoming, USA1 2

Food

Plants1

Length

2 to 3 m1

estimate based on complete skeletons

Weight

100 kg to 200 kg1

Height

0.8 to 1 m1

at the hips

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How tall was it?

at the hips

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 7 big dogs

as long as 3 dogs nose to tailas long as 17 bananas end to endas heavy as 40 watermelonsup to the handle of a door

How big was Leptoceratops compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Leptoceratops is one of the smallest horned dinosaurs ever found, only about the size of a large dog.1

Unlike its big cousin Triceratops, Leptoceratops had no horns and only a tiny frill at the back of its skull.1

The first Leptoceratops fossils were discovered in 1910 by Barnum Brown along the Red Deer River in Alberta, Canada.1 3

Scientists have found at least eight Leptoceratops specimens, including several nearly complete skeletons.2

Leptoceratops lived right at the end of the Cretaceous Period, about 66 to 72 million years ago.6

Some bonebeds in Montana suggest that Leptoceratops may have dug burrows and lived in groups.3

Leptoceratops had a deep, pointed beak and teeth with simple roots, perfect for chewing tough plants.2

AI-made picture of Leptoceratops — An AI-made picture of how Leptoceratops might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Leptoceratops

?How big was Leptoceratops?

About 2 metres (6.6 feet) long and 0.6 to 0.9 metres (2 to 3 feet) tall at the hips, roughly the size of a large dog.1 4

?Did Leptoceratops have horns?

No, Leptoceratops had no horns, only a small frill on its head, unlike its big cousin Triceratops.1 4

?What did Leptoceratops eat?

It was a plant-eater that ate tough plants like angiosperms, conifers, and cycads, using its beak and special teeth to chew.1

?Could Leptoceratops walk on two legs?

Yes, it likely walked on two legs when moving fast and on all fours when moving slowly.1 4

?When did Leptoceratops live?

It lived at the very end of the Cretaceous Period, about 66 to 72 million years ago.1 5

?Where was Leptoceratops found?

Fossils have been found in Canada (Alberta) and the United States (Montana and Wyoming).1 5

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Myth buster

Myth: Leptoceratops is often thought to be a baby Triceratops because of its small size and simple frill.

Truth: Leptoceratops is a separate, smaller species of horned dinosaur that lived at the same time as Triceratops. It had its own unique features like a tiny frill and no horns.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Leptoceratops
Named by: Brown 19146
Group: Horned dinos
Family / clade: Leptoceratopsidae6
Classification: Ornithischia > Ceratopsia6
Age of the rocks: 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)6
Rock formations: Scollard, Hell Creek, "Lance"6
Countries: USA, Canada6
Fossil records: 8 in the Paleobiology Database6
Discovery: Leptoceratops was named by American paleontologist Barnum Brown in 1914, based on a partial skull and skeleton found in 1910 in Alberta, Canada.1 3
Still debated: Scientists still debate whether some fossils from Montana belong to Leptoceratops or to its close relatives Montanoceratops and Cerasinops.1

Where the facts come from

Leptoceratops - Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
A NEW PARTIAL SKELETON OF LEPTOCERATOPS GRACILIS FROM (experiment-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com)
LEPTOCERATOPS - DinoChecker dinosaur archive (dinochecker.com)
Leptoceratops Gracilis, Dinosaur Pictures, Dinosaur Facts - National Geographic | National Geographic (nationalgeographic.com)
Leptoceratops | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
Leptoceratops in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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