Hualianceratops
hwah-lee-an-SAIR-ah-tops /ˌhwɑːliænˈsɛrətɒps/
Accepted genus
ornate horned face
- hualian · Chinese · ornate, beautiful
- keras · Greek · horn
- ops · Greek · face
The name combines the Chinese word "hualian" (meaning ornate or beautiful) with the Greek words for "horn" and "face". It refers to the ornamented skull, which has bony bumps and ridges on the jaw and cheek bones. The "-ceratops" ending is a common one for horned dinosaurs, and Hualianceratops is an early, primitive member of the ceratopsian group.
- Named by
- Han et al.
- Year named
- 2015
- Period
- Late Jurassic
- Stage
- Oxfordian
- Found in
- Shishugou Formation, Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, China
The type species is Hualianceratops wucaiwanensis. It is one of the earliest known ceratopsians, from the Late Jurassic, and is a basal member of the group.