Cretaceous period over 65 million years old

Found in: Inner Mongolia

Species: Psittacosaurus xingjiangensis Sereno et Chao

The ceratopsids are divided into two groups: the Early Cretaceous psittacosaurids, or
parrot-beaked dinosaurs, and the Late Cretaceous neoceratopsids, that unites two groups
of horned dinosaurs, protoceratopsids and ceratopsids. The psittacosaurids, known only
from the late Early Cretaceous of Central Asia, are considered to be close to an ancestor
of the horned dinosaurs. Both the parrot-beaked and horned dinosaurs possessed jaws,
being curved and tapered forward and the lateral teeth highly specialized to
masticate the vegetative food. Psittacosaurids were relatively small , up to 2 meters in
length,, and mostly bipedal cursors although the forelimbs in these dinosaurs were
relatively long and well-developed.

This bi-pedal dinosaur is thought to have been a precursor to the horned dinosaurs (ceratopsians), which include
such well-known forms as Triceratops. The name for this dinosaur,
Psittacosaurus, means the 'parrot-lizard' referring to its prominent parrot-like beak.
This beak was one of the principal advances from the
fabrosaurids and hypsilophodontids which gave rise to it. Psittacosaurus was the first step
on the path towards the four-footed, horned descendants that were to appear more than
twenty millions years later. It had a special bone called the rostral, found elsewhere only
in the horned dinosaurs. In many ways like the construction of its
teeth, it is still very similar to hypsilophodonts..

This is a rare opportunity to own a real 3d mounted dinosaur of museum quality. All of the bones in this fossil are real. Each bone was painstakingly removed of the matrix, cleaned, prepped, stabalized, repaired and then individually mounted on a custom wire frame.

The base measures 4 1/2" High,29 1/2 "Long & 19 1/2" Wide. The mounted speciment from the top of the base measures about 19 3/4" high & is about 41 1/2" in length.

An oustanding specimen at a very affordable price.