Liaoceratops was a ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in the Early Cretaceous about 126 million years ago. It is believed to be one of the earliest relatives of the horned ceratopsids. Although it was much smaller than its later relatives, it provided a glimpse into the early evolution of this group of dinosaurs. It could help scientists understand the role of horns and frills in ceratopsid dinosaurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fossils were found by a team of American and Chinese scientists in China's famous Liaoning province. In 2002, it was named and described by Xu Xing, Peter Makovicky, Wang Xiaolin, Mark Norell and You Hailu as Liaoceratops yanzigouensis. The name comes from the Greek word keras, \"horn\", and ops, \"face\", and the specific term refers to the city of Yanzigou.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has a small skull with a length of 154 millimeters and an estimated weight of two kilograms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liaoceratops was a small animal with a skull barely 154 millimeters long. It had a frill on its neck at the top of its head, but no horns. It stood and walked on its hind legs alone. Despite its small size, it was an agile animal that had an excellent chance of evading larger predatory dinosaurs, such as the tyrannosaurus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is estimated that Liaoceratops weighed about 7 pounds, was about a foot tall and less than 3 feet long. It was comparable to a large dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n