Microceratops

tiny horned face

• mikros · Greek · small, tiny
• keras / keratos · Greek · horn
• ops · Greek · face

The name combines the Greek words 'mikros' (small), 'keras/keratos' (horn), and 'ops' (face), meaning 'tiny horned face'. It was chosen to reflect the animal's small body size and its membership in Ceratopsia, the horned dinosaurs. The name mirrors the structure of the well-known genus Triceratops but emphasises the diminutive scale of this animal. It was one of the smallest ceratopsians known at the time of its description.

Named by

Bohlin

Year named

1953

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stages

Campanian – Maastrichtian

Found in

Bayan Shireh Formation and related deposits, Mongolia and China

Microceratops is widely regarded as a nomen dubium because the fragmentary nature of the type material makes it impossible to diagnose reliably. Some material formerly assigned to it has been referred to Graciliceratops or left as indeterminate ceratopsian. Additionally, the name Microceratops was already in use for a genus of parasitic wasp (Hymenoptera), making it technically preoccupied under zoological nomenclature; the replacement name Microceratus was proposed by Mateus in 2008, though usage varies in the literature.